A Ukrainian court sentenced a resident of the Vasylivka district in the Zaporizhzhia region to 12 years in prison for serving in a police unit established by Russian occupation authorities. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced the verdict on October 26.
The man was also ordered to forfeit his property. He was convicted under Part 7 of Article 111-1 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, which concerns collaboration activities.
According to the SBU, the man joined a local police structure created by Russian authorities after the occupation of part of the Zaporizhzhia region in June 2022.
He took a position as a juvenile affairs officer in that unit.
Ukrainian investigators established that, while serving in the occupation police, the man participated in detentions and the persecution of local residents who opposed the Russian administration.
According to the SBU, these actions were carried out under the guise of searches and other investigative procedures in cases opened by occupation authorities.
The convicted man also guarded election commissions during the Russian-organized September 2022 vote on the incorporation of the Zaporizhzhia region into Russia.
SBU officers detained him in Lviv in February 2024.
According to the Ukrainian security service, he had traveled to visit relatives in Ukrainian-controlled territory and planned to subsequently leave for a European Union country.
The investigation was conducted by SBU officers in the Lviv and Zaporizhzhia regions under the procedural supervision of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor's Office.
The SBU statement provides details of the verdict and the circumstances established by Ukrainian investigators. The full court judgment and the defense's position were not included in the available materials.
The case concerns the activities of law enforcement bodies established by Russia in occupied Ukrainian territories and their personnel's involvement in the persecution of local residents.