Two gunmen working for the occupying forces' railway were apprehended in Kherson

Two residents of Kherson were notified in absentia that they are suspected of voluntarily participating in an illegal paramilitary group formed in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

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

According to the investigation, after the capture of Kherson, the occupying authorities established the so-called “Kherson Paramilitary Security Unit” in the city, which operated as part of the illegal “Kherson Railway State Unitary Enterprise.”

According to the prosecutor’s office, two residents of Kherson—a 50-year-old and a 61-year-old man—voluntarily joined the unit.

One of them began serving as a “gunman in the paramilitary security unit” no later than July 2022. The other joined the illegal unit no later than June 2022 and also took on the role of “gunman.”

The investigation asserts that the men were aware of the temporary occupation of Kherson by Russian troops, yet voluntarily agreed to work in the unit created by the occupiers and acted in the enemy’s interest.

They are charged with voluntary participation in an illegal paramilitary unit—Part 7 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The pretrial investigation is being conducted by the Territorial Office of the State Bureau of Investigation in Melitopol, with operational support provided by the Security Service of Ukraine’s Office in Kherson Oblast.

Recently, the Security Service of Ukraine detained a resident of the Bilozerska community in the Kherson region who, according to the investigation, passed information about the Defense Forces to Russian special services and helped prepare strikes on the frontline region.

Earlier, the director of an agricultural firm owned by Kherson Mayor Kolyhaev was convicted of aiding the Russian Federation.  This refers toPetro Lyashko, the head of the “Yukos and K” farming enterprise, who is linked to the business interests of Kherson MayorIhor Kolykhaev.

Андрій Колісніченко