SBU detains enemy agitator in Kherson

The Security Service of Ukraine detained in Kherson a hostile agitator who had been hiding in a basement for four years. He was campaigning to vote for joining the aggressor country.

This was reported by the press service of the SBU Main Directorate in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

According to the investigation, the 46-year-old recidivist immediately agreed to cooperate with the enemy after the seizure of the community and joined the occupation "election committee No. 809".

In September 2022, he and his accomplices visited the homes of residents of one of the villages in Beryslav district. Under the control of the Russian military, the perpetrators called on their fellow villagers to support the "accession" of Kherson region to the Russian Federation. During the fake voting, the collaborators distributed "ballots" to the villagers and falsified the results in favor of the Kremlin.

After the de-occupation of the right bank, the man fled to Kherson, where he was hiding from justice in the basement of his relatives' house for several years.

SBU officers established his whereabouts and served him a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - for cooperation activities carried out by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.

The detainee is currently in custody and faces up to 10 years in prison.

The court also sentenced the masseuse of Novotroitske to 11 years in prison. Prior to the occupation, she worked as a masseuse in Kherson, but after the occupation of the region, she agreed to cooperate with the occupation authorities and became the head of the local administration. In April 2023, the Russian invaders officially appointed her as the head of the Novotroitsk community, and in October of the same year, she resumed her activities in this position under a new name, effectively acting as a gauleiter under the control of the occupiers.

After receiving the position, according to local residents, she was involved in robbing local residents, evicting people from their own apartments to accommodate the Russian military and participating in propaganda activities in Moscow. Prior to her appointment as a gauleiter, Kuzmenko worked at the occupation employment center, which opened in the summer of 2022.

Анна Бальчінос