Seven lives for 16 thousand: mother and son sent to prison for treason in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv, a court sentenced a man and his mother who were found guilty of collaborating with Russia and passing on information about Ukrainian military facilities. According to the investigation, their actions led to a rocket attack on a residential building that killed seven people, including a child.

The Central District Court of Mykolaiv convicted a 30-year-old local resident and his mother of treason, spreading pro-Russian propaganda and assisting the Russian army in conducting hostilities against Ukraine.

The court found that the defendants agreed to cooperate with the administrator of a pro-Russian Telegram channel in exchange for a monetary reward. They transmitted information about the location of the Ukrainian military, the movement of equipment and critical infrastructure.

The man regularly collected data on the consequences of Russian shelling and sent files with coordinates and photos to Russian representatives. In one of the messages, he indicated the location of the accumulation of cars with license plates from other regions.

According to the court, it was after the transmission of this information that Russian troops launched a missile attack on a high-rise building on Pogranichna Street in Mykolaiv. Seven people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy.

After the attack, the man and his mother drove around the site of the attack and reported to the Russian curator about the consequences of the shelling.

Both men also repeatedly recorded video and audio in support of Russia, justifying the full-scale invasion and denying the occupation of Ukrainian territories. These materials were published on the Internet and used by Russian propaganda resources.

For completing the tasks, the man received UAH 16 thousand, which came from the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region.

During the trial, the defendants pleaded not guilty, but the court concluded that their guilt was fully proven by the testimony of witnesses and the case file. Both were sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Also in April, a Mykolaiv court found former intelligence officer Eduard Shevchenko guilty of high treason under martial law and illegal handling of weapons.

Анна Бальчінос