A former prison employee, who later served with the Territorial Defense Forces in the Odesa region, was sentenced to 12 years

A military servicemember who worked for the Russians during the occupation of the Kherson region and, after the region’s liberation, joined one of the district military recruitment centers in the Odesa region was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The Kherson City Court handed down the sentence on November 11.

According to the case file, prior to the invasion, the man worked at Darivska Correctional Colony No. 10. After the Russians seized the colony in May 2022, the court found that in July he voluntarily accepted the position of junior inspector, Category 1, in an illegal body established by the occupiers on the premises of the colony.

Former colleagues testified that the occupiers offered employees the opportunity to continue working, and the defendant agreed. He was seen on the colony’s grounds wearing a Russian uniform and carrying a Russian flag. Four witnesses identified him from photographs.

In addition, the court referred to the Russian-language staffing chart of the occupied penal colony, where he is listed as a junior inspector. The court found no evidence of coercion and classified the actions under Part 7 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (collaboration).

The man did not admit guilt. According to him, after the invasion began, he joined the territorial defense forces and did not return to the penal colony. He hid from the Russians for three months and later lived in the village of Ingulets.

He also claimed that he had passed on information about the movements of Russian troops to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He accused the prosecution’s witnesses of lying.

The court did not believe his explanations or the testimony of the defense witnesses, who included his wife and acquaintances. According to the court, their testimony was contradicted by the prosecution’s witnesses and written evidence.

The court sentenced him to 12 years in prison with confiscation of all his property. The confiscation was justified on the grounds of a mercenary motive—that is, the desire to receive a stable income from the aggressor state.

For another 14 years after serving his sentence, he will be barred from holding positions in law enforcement agencies, government bodies, and local self-government. He was also stripped of his rank of ensign in the internal service.

According to the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), the man was detained in September 2024. He had been mobilized and began serving at one of the district military registration and enlistment offices in the Odesa region, where he delivered draft notices to conscripts. The man told his colleagues about his principled stance and denied collaborating with the occupiers.

Ірина Глухова