In the Kharkiv region, a 50-year-old man will stand trial accused of high treason and justifying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. He passed information about Ukrainian troops to a Russian special service and collected data on damage to the Pechenihy Reservoir dam.
This is reported by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, in autumn 2025 a resident of the settlement of Pechenihy in Chuhuiv district established contact via Telegram with a representative of a Russian special service and agreed to carry out his tasks.
From October 2025 to January 2026, the man sent his handler intelligence on units of Ukraine’s Defence Forces. To do so, he used text and voice messages, as well as Google Maps screenshots with marked locations.
In particular, he provided data on the locations of dugouts and the movement of foreign-made military equipment that Ukraine had received from international partners.
Law enforcement say the man paid particular attention to the Pechenihy Reservoir dam. He documented the aftermath of Russian strikes, the nature of the damage and the condition of the sluice gates.
In addition, the accused regularly posted comments in pro-Russian Telegram channels in which he justified Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. In particular, he shifted responsibility for shelling residential areas of Kharkiv onto Ukrainian troops and awaited the seizure of the region. The nature of his statements was confirmed by the findings of a forensic linguistic examination.
In February 2026, law enforcement officers detained the man at his place of residence and served him with a notice of suspicion. He is currently being held in custody.
A prosecutor from the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office approved and sent to court an indictment on charges of high treason under martial law (Part 2, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as well as producing and disseminating materials that justify or deny Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, committed repeatedly (Parts 2 and 3, Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The case will be heard by the Chuhuiv City Court of Kharkiv region. The accused faces life imprisonment.
The pre-trial investigation and operational support were carried out by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Directorate in the Kharkiv region.
The prosecutor’s office reminds that, under Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court’s guilty verdict.