The Security Service of Ukraine has collected evidence against six more traitors who fought against Ukrainian troops in Donetsk Region. The militants tried to break through the defences of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the Pokrovske and Toretske directions, the SBU reports.
This autumn, the suspects were captured during fierce fighting on the eastern front.
This is the second time one of them has surrendered to Ukrainian soldiers. The first time was in 2022, when he was almost immediately exchanged for Ukrainian defenders. And this time, the Defence Forces captured the militant after the racists left him alone without ammunition on the battlefield.
Based on the materials of military counterintelligence and SBU investigators, the court sentenced the traitors to 15 years in prison.
All of the convicts are residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk Region who voluntarily joined the groups of the Southern Military District of the enemy armed forces.
Among the criminals is a former member of the disbanded Berkut special police unit, who joined the Russian occupiers in 2014 and took part in battles against the ATO forces.
After the outbreak of full-scale war, the traitor became the commander of the reconnaissance unit of the 7th Russian motorised rifle brigade. In this position, he took part in the capture of Svitlodarsk and stormed Toretsk.
Another perpetrator is a former employee of the Horlivka Locomotive Depot who signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence in March 2023. After a short training course at a training ground in the temporarily occupied Makiyivka, he was appointed a machine gunner of the 1st Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the Russian Federation and sent to the front line.
Another traitor was captured during a battle near the village of Dachne. At the time, he was a member of the 132nd motorised rifle brigade of the Russian Armed Forces.
Three more fought in the ranks of the 1st Ruscist Army Corps. They attacked the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces using kamikaze drones near the village of New York.
Based on the evidence of the SBU investigators, the court found the militants guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Art. 1, 2 Art. 111 (high treason);
- ч. 7 Art. 111-1 (collaboration).