Terrorist "Santa" from Odesa sentenced to 14 years in prison

The court found guilty an Odesa resident who served under the call sign "Santa" in an illegal armed unit of the "LPR" - the so-called 14th Battalion of Territorial Defense "Primara" (in Russian, "Ghost").

This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.

He was found guilty of participating in a terrorist organization and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The resident of Odesa served in the ranks of militants from June 2014 to 2015 and provided armed resistance to Ukrainian law enforcement officers and servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine involved in the anti-terrorist operation.

The convict took part in the armed confrontation in Lysychansk in order to keep the city under the control of illegal armed groups of the Russian Federation and to seize settlements, buildings and other objects on the territory of Luhansk region.

Due to the successful completion of the assigned tasks, he was appointed company commander of the 14th battalion of territorial defense "Prizrak".

At the end of 2015, the convict left the terrorist organization and moved to Russia.

"Santa" was detained in August last year in Odesa. He decided to leave his leaders and secretly left for the territory controlled by Ukraine and returned to Odesa. In the city, he tried to "lay low" and thus avoid justice.

During searches at the offender's places of residence in the regional center, law enforcement officers found photographs with evidence of his membership in the terrorist "luhansk people's republic". He has been kept in custody since then.

In February, prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office sent an indictment against the Odesa resident to the court on the fact of participation in a terrorist organization.

In October last year, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa sentenced two militants of illegal armed groups in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Prior to that, in August 2023, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa sentenced an Odesa resident to 14 years in prison with confiscation of property for participating in a terrorist organization.

The same court also sentenced a militant with the call sign "Odesa" of the DNR terrorist organization in absentia to 14 years in prison with confiscation of property in August of that year.

Кирило Бойко