Wife in the Armed Forces, husband in jail: Russian agent convicted in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv, a court convicted a man of high treason for transmitting information about the Ukrainian Armed Forces to a Russian representative on Telegram. Although he denied his guilt and called the information fictitious, the court found it real and useful to the enemy.

This was reported by Intent with reference to the verdict of the Ingul District Court of Mykolaiv.

According to the investigation, the man worked as a security guard at the Epicenter-K shopping center, had a wife and two minor children. He had no previous criminal record.

The court found that the man maintained contact with the representative of the Russian Federation via the Telegram messenger. In December 2024, he twice sent military messages to the interlocutor.

In particular, he provided information about the deployment of Ukrainian military near the village of Lupareve. The correspondence mentioned territorial defense units, their locations, supply and movement of equipment. This information concerned units that performed combat missions as part of the Kherson group.

The man also noticed the movement of a column of military equipment on the Kherson highway and passed this information to the interlocutor. The message referred to armored vehicles, the direction of movement, and assumptions about the military's logistics routes. Later, information from the Kherson operational and tactical group confirmed the fact that the vehicles had moved at the specified time and area. At the same time, such data was not made public officially.

In court, the accused did not admit his guilt of treason. He explained that he started communicating with his Telegram contact out of fear for his wife, who serves in the Armed Forces. According to him, he allegedly wanted to be able to get information about her in case of capture. The man also claimed that he was making up some of the information or taking it from social media, and had no real intention of helping the Russian Federation.

However, the court rejected this version. During the trial, the court examined the seized phone of the accused, his Telegram correspondence, the results of covert investigative actions, mobile data and the conclusions of military structures. The correspondence contained other messages about the military, the wounded, the deployment of units and critical statements about the Ukrainian government and defense.

As a result, the court found the man guilty of treason and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. Additionally, a third of his property was confiscated, taking into account his marital status, children and his wife's service in the Armed Forces.

Also in Mykolaiv, a court sentenced a man and his mother who were found guilty of collaborating with Russia and passing on information about Ukrainian military facilities. Their actions led to a rocket attack on a residential building that killed seven people, including a child.

Анна Бальчінос