25 October 2026, 18:35
Saldo is suspected of committing a war crime against Ukrainian children
Ця стаття також доступна українською
PHOTO: Office of the Prosecutor General
The Security Service of Ukraine has formally charged, in absentia, Vladimir Saldo—the Russian-appointed “governor” of the occupied part of the Kherson region—with a war crime: the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Crimea. According to the investigation, three minors were taken away without their parents’ consent and were later involved in Russian military-patriotic events.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, in September 2022, three minors were enrolled in the “Kherson Professional Shipbuilding Lyceum,” established by the occupying authorities. One of them was taken from the village of Radenske to Kherson without his parents’ consent and placed in the educational institution.
Investigators believe that Saldo instructed the occupying “Ministry of Education” to organize the transfer of children from educational institutions in Kherson and the region to Crimea under the pretext of health retreats. According to the investigation, Viktor Loginov, the acting director of the lyceum, and Mykola Dolzhenko, a vocational training instructor, were involved in organizing the transfer.
On October 7, 2022, three students were gathered at the lyceum building without their parents’ consent, put on a bus, and taken to the river port in Kherson. From there, the children were transported by boat to Oleshky and then by bus to the “Druzhba” camp in Yevpatoria. In December, they were moved to the “Luchisty” camp near Yevpatoria, where they remained until January 2023.
According to the investigation, on January 31, 2023, the children were enrolled—without the consent of their legal guardians—in the Kerch Maritime Technical College, which had been established by the Russian side. There, they were involved in military-patriotic activities, exposed to Russian propaganda, and had a Russian identity imposed upon them.
One of the children had a disability and a severe form of type 1 diabetes and required daily insulin injections. Due to the lack of necessary medication at the camp, he was admitted to the intensive care unit in Yevpatoria and spent three weeks in the hospital.
According to the investigation, the Russian side did not contact the Ukrainian authorities regarding the return of the children. The parents traveled to the occupied territory on their own to retrieve them. With the assistance of a civil society organization, the children were returned to territory controlled by Ukraine on July 5 and October 9, 2023.
Saldo is charged with violating the laws and customs of war, committed by a group of individuals acting in concert—Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Loginov and Dolzhenko have also been named as suspects.
Volodymyr Vasylovych Saldo is the former mayor of Kherson and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament of the 7th convocation, who, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, sided with the occupiers and headed the occupation administration of the Kherson region established by them.
Criminal Records and Sentences
November 2023. Sentenced in absentia to 15 years’ imprisonment for treason, collaboration, and justifying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.
April 2026. Received another sentence—15 years in prison for treason, collaboration, encroachment on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and publicly justifying Russian aggression.
June 2026. The Kherson City Court sentenced Saldo in absentia to 15 years in prison for violating the laws and customs of war in a case involving the illegal appropriation of Ukrainian grain.
