A court handed down a sentence to a police officer who, after working for the occupiers, took a vacation in Crimea

A former police officer under the occupation regime, who had been vacationing in Crimea and then traveled to Ukraine, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

This is stated in the verdict of the Khortytskyi District Court of Zaporizhzhia dated October 22.

According to the verdict, in approximately June 2022, the man, while in the temporarily occupied town of Mykhailivka in the Vasylivka District of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, accepted an offer from representatives of the occupying authorities. He became a district police officer in the illegal “Police Department No. 3,” which the Russians had established in the town. His contract was signed on August 1, 2022.

The court found that he patrolled the settlement alongside other officers and participated in searches of the homes of pro-Ukrainian residents. In September 2022, he maintained order at a polling station during the so-called referendum in the village of Tymoshivka. 

Two prosecution witnesses identified him from photographs. One woman recounted that in the fall of 2022, he and a colleague came to her home wearing blue uniforms with Russian insignia and took her to the “department.” There, she was interrogated until evening and threatened, while her phone and computer were searched for at her home. Another witness saw him in a black uniform, wearing a balaclava, and carrying a baton and handcuffs. According to him, in the summer of 2022, the local police officer came by twice and offered to collaborate with the new police force.

The man did not admit guilt. According to him, he worked as a security guard at the Zaporizhzhia Iron Ore Plant and resigned after the occupiers arrived. He said that around June 15, 2022, at a checkpoint, officials found calls on his phone regarding troop movements and pro-Ukrainian posts. After that, he was taken to the command post, where, according to him, he was tortured and threatened with having his fingers cut off and with reprisals against his wife and child. About ten days later, he “broke down” and agreed to work.

The defendant claimed that he received 60,000 rubles in cash for his work and submitted requests for discharge, but they were denied. He was released in December 2022 after a polygraph test confirmed his pro-Ukrainian stance.

In the summer of 2023, he went to the seaside in Kyrylivka and also traveled with his wife to Crimea. In November 2023, he left for territory controlled by Ukraine via Russia and the Sumy region. He told the SBU about the locations of Russian troops but did not mention that he had worked for the “police” because he feared for his wife’s safety.

The court characterized these statements as a defense strategy. According to the verdict, the investigative department has no reports or cases regarding the abduction, torture, or unlawful detention of the man or his relatives. After arriving in government-controlled territory, he himself made no mention of this or of his work in the occupation police.

A defense witness who saw him after his release did not notice any signs of beatings. A photo taken at the beach on July 24, 2022—when he was already serving—also shows no physical injuries. The court does not consider the fact that he had a disabled wife and a child to be evidence of pressure that would have influenced his free will.

Investigators also found photos from Crimea on his phone: one from July 24, 2022; one from Gurzuf dated September 16, 2023; and others from August 2023. They included a Russian SIM card and contacts labeled “police chief,” “duty officer,” and “commandant.”

Separately, the court cited a wiretapped conversation from January 30, 2024. In it, the defendant says: “There must be war in Lviv, there must be war all over the land, so that everyone feels it.”

He also spoke about a well-paying job where he earned a thousand, and sometimes even two thousand, dollars a month. In another conversation, he said that no one knows about his work in the police force and no one should know.

Ultimately, he was found guilty under Part 7 of Article 111-1—voluntarily holding a position in illegal law enforcement agencies in a temporarily occupied territory.

The court sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

Ірина Глухова