An attempt to blame his treason on his own stupidity cost a Mykolaiv resident his freedom

A Russian agent was convicted of treason in Mykolaiv. He had been passing on information about the operations of Ukraine’s air defense forces and the movement of military equipment through the city. 

This is according to the verdict of the Korabelny District Court of Mykolaiv. 

According to the case file, in November 2025, Volodymyr Shatun began communicating via Telegram with the administrator of a pro-Russian channel, who, according to the court’s findings, was acting in the interests of Russia.

He provided the administrator with information about the operations of the Ukrainian air defense forces in the city. In particular, he reported on the “Mayak” recreational area, where the National Guard’s “Sparta-8” mobile fire group was stationed.

In January 2026, the man wrote to the channel’s administrator again. This time, he described the movement of Ukrainian military equipment through Mykolaiv. 

Shatun also reported on the movement of military equipment near Simferopolskaya Street. In his message, he described a jeep carrying equipment that, in his opinion, could be used for air defense or to launch a drone, as well as two military vehicles. In addition, he reported that military personnel were inquiring about the location of a former fishing collective farm in the Zhukov area, near the industrial zone and the river.

During a search, two phones were seized from him. One had a logged-in Telegram account from which the messages were sent. Experts determined that the chat between users had been deleted on November 30, 2025. Pro-Russian Telegram channels and groups were also found on the phones.

The channel administrator himself had previously been convicted of treason in June 2024.

In court, Shatun did not deny that he had sent messages about military personnel and equipment, but claimed that he did not intend to harm the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He asserted that he believed his interlocutor to be a Ukrainian citizen and was unaware of his ties to Russian intelligence agencies. He called the transmission of military information “stupid.”

The court was not convinced by these explanations. As a result, the man was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and all his property was confiscated. 

Also in August, a woman from Mykolaiv was sent to a pretrial detention center for providing information on the locations of Ukrainian military units and possible adjustments to strikes in the region. 

Анна Бальчінос