The commander of the "Crimean Self-Defense" has been brought to trial on charges of treason

In 2014, he helped Russian military forces establish control over Crimea, and after the full-scale invasion began, he continued to fight against Ukraine. Now, the former commander of the "Crimean Self-Defense" faces imprisonment.

Prosecutors in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol have filed an indictment against the leader of one of the units of the illegal armed group “Crimean Self-Defense.”

According to the investigation, in 2014, a Ukrainian citizen voluntarily took command of the 10th Company of the so-called “People’s Militia,” which operated in support of Russian troops during the occupation of the peninsula.

Under the guise of maintaining public order, he and his subordinates patrolled the streets of Simferopol, manned checkpoints, and illegally checked the documents of local residents.

According to investigators, the defendant also participated in the seizure of the building of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and facilitated the holding of an illegal pseudo-referendum on the peninsula’s annexation to the Russian Federation.

His collaboration with the occupiers did not end there. In 2017, he was appointed “ataman” of the so-called “Crimean Regional Cossack Society.”

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, he joined the hostilities against the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Specifically, he became deputy commander of the “Tavrida Volunteer Assault Battalion,” within which he carried out tasks assigned by the Russian military on the territory of the Kherson region.

The defendant’s actions were classified as participation in an illegal armed group, high treason, and an encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine. Under these charges, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Also in July, a Crimean resident who was captured during combat operations—the man had been fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the Russian army—stood trial. He received the maximum sentence for high treason.

Анна Бальчінос