Resident of Kherson region heads village council under occupants

In Kherson region, a 62-year-old local resident was served a notice of suspicion of collaboration in absentia.

This was reported by the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, in July 2022, during the occupation of the region, the man cooperated with representatives of the Russian Federation and took the position of the so-called 'head of the Mykolaiv village council'.

While holding the pseudo-position, the defendant managed the work of the illegal authority and was engaged in the formation of its staff. He was also responsible for the implementation of Russian curricula in local educational institutions and ensured the circulation of the Russian ruble in the occupied settlement.

The pre-trial investigation in this case is conducted by the SBU Office in Kherson region under the supervision of the regional and Beryslav District Prosecutor's Offices. Law enforcers remind that according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime until proven guilty by law and established by a court verdict.

Earlier, 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.

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.

Катерина Глушко