The SBU arrested a man from Kherson who was helping to restore a factory for the Russian military

In Kherson, a factory worker who helped Russia resume operations at the seized facility was detained. The man tried to keep a low profile after the city was liberated, but he was detained by the SBU.

This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, the man voluntarily began collaborating with the enemy while Kherson was still under temporary occupation.

In August 2022, he was appointed head of a “shop floor section” at the seized factory—a facility the Russian Federation planned to use to supply its armed groups.

While in that position, the suspect recruited like-minded individuals to work at the seized enterprise and attempted to persuade his acquaintances and former colleagues to cooperate with the occupiers.

In addition, he worked to restore the plant’s production capacity to fulfill industrial orders from the Russian occupiers—repairing production equipment and conducting an inventory of assets to transfer them to the occupation administration’s balance sheet.

After Kherson was liberated, the man did not leave the city but moved in with his daughter, hoping in this way to “lay low” and evade justice.

The SBU located him and detained him. During searches of the detainee’s premises, investigators found cell phones containing evidence of contact with the Russians, as well as money received for collaborating with the enemy.

SBU investigators informed the man that he is suspected of violating Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (aiding an aggressor state).

The suspect is currently in custody. He faces up to 12 years in prison and confiscation of property.

Recently, Ukrainian security services detained Serhiy Kolobov, the former head of the Crimean Autonomous Republic’s Republican Committee on Fuel, Energy, and Innovation Policy, in Kyiv. After the occupation of the peninsula in 2014, he defected to Russia and headed the occupying “Ministry” of Energy of Crimea.

Ірина Глухова