Resident of Odesa region convicted in Kryvyi Rih for fighting on the side of Russia

Pokrovsky District Court of Kryvyi Rih found a native of Odesa region guilty of high treason and collaboration.

This was reported by the Court Reporter publication with reference to the court's verdict.

We are talking about a native of the village of Berezyne, Odesa region, who left for Russia through third countries during the war. In February 2024, he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense at the military commissariat in Solnechnogorsk, Moscow region.

The man was assigned as a driver of a military unit and given the call sign "Red". From mid-February 2024, in the village of Zaitsevo, Bakhmut district, Donetsk region, and the city of Kreminna, Sievierodonetsk district, Luhansk region, he was engaged in engineering and fortification equipment of positions in various parts of the front.

On June 20, 2024, while performing combat missions near the village of Verkhnekamianske, Bakhmut district, Donetsk region, the accused was taken prisoner by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

During the court hearing, the man did not admit his guilt and said that he was forced to sign a contract for military service in Russia. An object was planted in his traveling bag, which was used to blackmail and intimidate him into going to prison.

The accused said that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion he lived in the village of Berezino in Odesa region, and had lived there all his life. He left Ukraine on July 26, 2023, because of mobilization and unwillingness to kill people, saying that he was a believer. He also had medical documents stating that he had a bad back and poor eyesight. He allegedly has an uncle and a brother in Russia. He lived with a friend who is a sailor like him. In November 2023, he received a Russian passport, explaining that he wanted to find a job and live somewhere. For some time he worked in Moscow at the Azon post office, then at another job, and then an object was planted in his bag and he was taken to the military commissariat. He had a choice of prison or a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry.

The man told the court that he had been promised that he would not be forced to go to war in Ukraine against his will, but as it turned out, he was lied to. On June 19, 2024, he was sent on a mission to dig in somewhere, but was not given weapons. They said that he would find his own weapons and he deliberately fell behind his group to surrender and go over to the side of the Ukrainian armed forces without weapons. Allegedly, he approached the AFU soldiers who were digging a trench, greeted them and surrendered.

However, the court criticized the defendant's testimony that he was forcibly enlisted in the Russian armed forces, did not take up arms at all and did not use them against the Ukrainian military. Being fit for military service, the man left Ukraine in July 2023 during the full-scale invasion of Russia and entered the territory of the aggressor state through other countries. Therefore, the court believes that the accused is lying about his true motives and intentions in order to avoid criminal liability. The panel of judges is convinced that the defendant deliberately and purposefully left the territory of Ukraine to participate in military units on the enemy's side. The man was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Кирило Бойко