Resident of Kherson region connects to Russian connection in occupied territories

The Kherson City Court found Andriy Konovalov, a former employee of PJSC VF Ukraine, guilty in absentia of aiding the aggressor state and sentenced him to 11 years in prison with confiscation of property.

This became known from the court's verdict.

He is also banned from holding public office and engaging in activities related to the provision of telecommunications services for 15 years. The verdict under Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has not yet entered into force, as the defendant, who is currently on the wanted list, has the right to appeal within 30 days.

According to the investigation, Konovalov, having access to all the company's stations in Kherson, dismantled telecommunications equipment in the summer of 2022 on the instructions of the occupiers and handed it over to the Russian company K-Telecom for reprogramming. Subsequently, he connected the stations to the Russian operator's network, thus facilitating the integration of Kherson region into the telecommunications space of the Russian Federation.

His guilt is proved by the investigated occupation documents, data from Russian registers, as well as witness testimony. One of the witnesses noted that during the occupation of the city, Konovalov started working for +7 Telecom, setting up Russian mobile communications for the occupation administration. It also turned out that although PJSC "VF of Ukraine" was idle during the occupation, Konovalov continued to be paid his salary.

Another witness said that with the assistance of the convict, work was done to connect Kherson, Kopani and Lazurne villages to the Internet. He was in contact with the FSB representatives under the call signs 'Black' and 'German', had armed guards and a special pass in the form of a red book with a seal. The witness emphasized that there were no signs of physical or psychological pressure on Konovalov by the occupation administration.

Катерина Глушко