Threatening teachers and more: deputy director of a lyceum in Mykolaiv region gets two years in prison

The court sentenced the deputy director of a school in Snihurivka, Mykolaiv region, who voluntarily defected to the enemy. She was tried for collaboration in absentia.

This is stated in the verdict of the Snihurivka District Court of Mykolaiv Oblast.

According to the case file, in the summer of 2022, during the temporary occupation, she voluntarily agreed to work for the Russians as the deputy director of educational and upbringing work of the illegally created "Snihiryov school" on the basis of the seized Snihiriv secondary school No. 4. Prior to the occupation, she held a similar position at Snihiriv Vocational Lyceum.

The woman was found guilty in absentia of collaboration under Part 3 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The court sentenced her to 2 years in prison with the deprivation of the right to hold positions in government, including in the field of education, for ten years.

According to the Center for Investigative Journalism, the woman in question is 48-year-old Olga Zakharova.
Witnesses in court said that Zakharova and the "director" threatened teachers who refused to cooperate, not to hire them even for low-level positions, such as cleaners. Some teachers still did not cooperate with the occupation authorities.

"The invaders planned to enroll about 200 children in the school. A local gauleiter promised to bring textbooks in Russian from Kherson, and they also promised to teach all lessons in Russian," the witnesses said.

In the fall of 2022, Zakharova, together with local collaborators, fled to the left-bank part of Kherson region. For the past two years, she has been hiding in occupied Skadovsk.

Recently, law enforcement officers exposed another collaborator from Mykolaiv region who is working with the enemy. She has now been served a notice of suspicion and faces up to 3 years in prison.

In early September, a resident of Ochakiv was brought to trial in Mykolaiv region for treason.

In addition, the prosecutor's office accused a 52-year-old resident of Pervomaisk of distributing materials calling for changes to Ukraine's borders and supporting Russian aggression.

Ірина Глухова