An English teacher from the Kherson region was sentenced to 10 years in prison for aiding Russia

A former English teacher at the Shyrokyvsky Lyceum in the Kherson region was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison for participating in the organization and conduct of an illegal referendum during the occupation of the region.

This is stated in the verdict of the Ternopil City and District Court.

The verdict does not specify the defendant’s last name, but according to the Judicial Authority of Ukraine, Intent has learned that the case involves Tetiana Kushnarenko.

According to the investigation, in September 2022, the defendant voluntarily became a member of the so-called precinct election commission, whose jurisdiction extended to the village of Hostropodolianske in the Skadovsk District. This allowed her to visitthe “election commission’s” office and receive portable ballot boxes, voter lists, and ballots.

From September 23 to 27, 2022, Kushnarenko went door-to-door among the village residents, encouraging them to participate in an illegal referendum on the Kherson region’s secession from Ukraine and accession to the Russian Federation, verifying voter rolls, and distributing ballots.

Witnesses in the case identified Kushnarenko as an English teacher at a local school. One of the witnesses stated that she knew the woman personally, as she had taught English to her daughter. Another witness also confirmed that the defendant taught her English at a local school.

According to SBU reports included in the case file, following the full-scale invasion, the woman also voluntarily took on the position of deputy director of a lyceum in the village of Shiroke in the Skadovsk district and implemented the aggressor state’s educational standards there.

Several residents of the village of Hostropodolianske confirmed during a photo identification process that it was this woman who, on September 24, 2022, came to their homes along with other members of the “election commission” and urged them to vote for the region’s annexation to the Russian Federation.

Witnesses also identified the ballot used during the referendum.

The court found Kushnarenko guilty under Part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—voluntary participation by a citizen of Ukraine in the organization and conduct of an illegal referendum in a temporarily occupied territory.

The case was heard in absentia, as the defendant did not appear in court.

The court sentenced her to 10 years of imprisonment, with a 15-year ban on holding public office and the confiscation of all her property. The previously imposed seizure of the woman’s land plot remained in effect.

Ірина Глухова