The case against Saldo and other organizers of the conscription of residents of the Kherson region has been referred to court

An indictment has been filed with the court against the so-called governor of the Kherson region,Volodymyr Saldo, an official of the occupation administration, and four “military commissars.” Investigators believe the defendants were involved in the systematic forced conscription of Ukrainians into the Russian army.

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

According to the investigation, the defendants forcibly registered local residents for military service. As a result, at least 2,700 residents of the temporarily occupied Kherson region were affected. Some of these people are already serving in the ranks of the aggressor state’s army.

The investigation notes that in the occupied part of the region, the occupation administration systematically coordinated all aspects: population registration, the creation of databases of those subject to military service, the organization of medical examinations, the work of draft boards, and, ultimately, the conscription of Ukrainian citizens into the Russian Federation’s army. 

According to the case file, this system was coordinated by the so-called “Governor of the Kherson Region,” Vladimir Saldo. Based on his orders and directives, draft boards were established, procedures for conducting mobilization activities were defined, and coordination between the occupying authorities and the Russian military was organized.

The investigation also established that the system operated, in particular, through coercion. Men were forced to undergo conscription procedures under threat of violence, imprisonment, restrictions on leaving dangerous areas, loss of access to social services, and deportation. In some cases, torture was used.

Four heads of the occupation military registration and enlistment offices were charged with violations of the laws and customs of war committed by a group of persons (Part 1 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). An official of the occupation administration is also charged with collaboration (Part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Юлія Калабайда