A resident of the Kherson region was notified of charges of indoctrinating children during the occupation

Prosecutors in Kherson have charged a 54-year-old resident of Kalanchak in absentia with collaboration. The man is accused of working for the occupying administration, militarizing children, and participating in hostilities against Ukraine.

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

Investigators believe that the suspect voluntarily cooperated with the enemy. In September 2023, he became a deputy in the first convocation of the illegal Council of Deputies of the Kalanchak Municipal District. He was later appointed deputy chairman of the illegal body. Using his status as a representative of the occupying authorities, he intimidated local residents and forced people to support the occupation regime. 

According to the case file, the man organized a branch of the Russian military movement “Yunarmiya” in Kalanchak. He recruited Ukrainian children into the Russian military-patriotic environment and subjected them to the ideological influence of the aggressor state.

After leaving his post on October 25, 2024, the suspect voluntarily signed a military service contract and joined the armed forces of the Russian Federation. He participated in combat operations against the Ukrainian Defense Forces alongside members of illegal armed groups from the occupied part of Luhansk Oblast. For this, he received a medal from the head of the occupation administration of Kherson Oblast.

Earlier, the SBU announced that it had placed former Ukrainian customs officerDmytro Afanasiad under suspicion; he defected to the Russian authorities following the occupation of the Kherson region. According to investigators, he headed the illegal Kherson customs post.

Юлія Калабайда