The organizer of the seizure of the Belbek airfield was sentenced to 12 years

The head of the so-called Sevastopol Self-Defense Headquarters was sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason and violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity. In 2014, he personally led the seizure of the Belbek airfield and the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy.

This was reported by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. 

The verdict was handed down in a special judicial proceeding in the defendant’s absence.

According to the case file, prior to the occupation of Crimea, the defendant commanded a marine regiment of the 810th Brigade of the Russian Federation’s Black Sea Fleet, which was stationed in Sevastopol. Prosecutors proved that in February 2014, he sided with pro-Russian forces, voluntarily taking command of the headquarters of the enemy-controlled illegal armed group “Sevastopol Self-Defense.”

The case file states that the defendant personally selected candidates for the group and planned and coordinated all of his subordinates’ actions. It was under his leadership that the Headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy Command, the “Belbek” airfield, and the buildings of the prosecutor’s office, police, and other government agencies were seized.

The case file states that, on the convicted man’s orders, members of the illegal armed group patrolled the city’s streets, set up unauthorized checkpoints, checked documents, searched vehicles, and detained local residents who opposed the occupation of the peninsula. It is noted that they did so under the guise of “maintaining public order.”

Law enforcement officials noted that the convicted man received the “For the Liberation of Crimea and Sevastopol” medal for his loyalty to the occupying regime.
 

Юлія Калабайда