Occupant head of Kherson region accused of financing illegal armed group

The head of the occupation administration of Kherson region and six members of the group are suspected of financing illegal armed groups and torturing the population.

According to the press service of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, the head of the occupation administration of Kherson region and six members of the illegal armed group, the "State Security Service of Kherson Region," were served with a notice of suspicion in absentia.

The press service did not name the so-called "occupation head of Kherson region," but this "position" is currently held by Volodymyr Saldo.

According to the investigation, in order to preserve the illegitimate government and support it by force, the occupation head of the region ensured the activities of the illegal armed group, the Kherson Region State Security Service, by funding this security structure with millions of Russian rubles.

The report states that the armed group subordinate to him was used to exert pressure on the residents of the region. One of the documented facts is that the occupation head ordered the detention and torture of an entrepreneur to force him to re-register his business under Russian law.

Law enforcement officers identified representatives of the illegal armed formation - two "operatives" and four so-called "department heads", including a Russian citizen who provided financial operations and controlled and distributed money allocated by Russia for the armed formation.

"Acting jointly, in collusion with other servicemen of the aggressor state, they searched for and detained Ukrainian citizens, pro-Ukrainian activists, opponents of the occupation authorities, and other civilians. People were kept in inhumane conditions, subjected to psychological and physical violence, torture by electric shock," the statement said.

Based on the evidence collected, the occupation head was served in absentia a notice of suspicion of financing an armed group not provided for by law, ordering cruel treatment of civilians and committing other violations of the laws and customs of war (Part 3 of Article 260, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The actions of the four participants are qualified as high treason, participation in an armed group not provided for by law, cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war (Article 111, part 2, part 2, Article 260, part 2, Article 28, part 1, Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The so-called "chief financier" is charged with participation in an armed formation not provided for by law (Article 260(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

And another one is charged with cruel treatment of civilians and committing other violations of the laws and customs of war (Article 28(2), Article 438(1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pre-trial investigation and operational support is carried out by the SBU Office in Kherson region.

It is also known that the High Anti-Corruption Court decided to partially satisfy the claim of the Ministry of Justice of April 13 in case No. 991/3250/23 and confiscate part of the assets of the collaborator, former mayor of Kherson, Volodymyr Saldo.

It is also known that the head of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service will be tried in Kherson region.

Володимир Шкаєв