Pervomaisk Resident Sentenced to 6 Years for Justifying War and Spying

A resident of Pervomaisk was sentenced to 6 years in prison for justifying the war, calling for the overthrow of the government and disseminating information about the movement of military equipment.

This was reported by Court Reporter with reference to the verdict.

The Pervomaiskyi City District Court of Mykolaiv Region found a local resident guilty of crimes against national security.

According to the investigation, in 2023-2024, the accused ran a telegram channel with six subscribers, where he spread pro-Russian propaganda. He reposted materials that justified Russian aggression, including statements about the "fight against Banderites" and the "Russian Spring." He also shared stories from Russian media and posts calling for the overthrow of the government.

In July 2024, the man recorded the movement of a special railroad train with armored vehicles across the bridge in Pervomaisk and shared this information on his telegram channel. He described in detail the number of cars, the type of tanks, and the direction of movement.

The defendant denied guilt, claiming that his channel was closed and only five participants could see the information. He also suggested that one of them was an SBU officer. However, the court found this to be an insufficient argument, citing the Supreme Court's practice on similar crimes.

The man was convicted of justifying the war, calling for the overthrow of the government and illegally disseminating information about the movement of military equipment. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison without confiscation of property. The sentence has already entered into force, and the seized materials related to the activities of the banned Shariy Party will be destroyed.

The Mykolaiv court also ruled to extend the arrest of a suspect in the war against Ukraine. He faces up to 12 years in prison. The suspect, who shared pro-Russian views, passed messages with information about the movement of military units in Mykolaiv region to an enemy agent.

Earlier in Mykolaiv, a spy was convicted of treason during the war. The accused worked as an electrician at Nibulon and transmitted strategically important data via messenger in correspondence with a representative of the aggressor country. He also installed video cameras for online surveillance of important facilities.

Анна Бальчінос