Kharkiv region deputy sentenced to seven years for deporting Ukrainians to Russia
That is according to the Prosecutor General's Office, Ukrinform reports.
"Prosecutors proved that in the summer of 2022, during the occupation of Kupiansk, the deputy voluntarily agreed to operate under the rules of the Russian administration. Before the full-scale invasion, he was engaged in passenger transportation, and during the occupation he used these resources to implement the aggressor's criminal plans," the statement said.
In coordination with representatives of the occupation authorities, the deputy determined routes through the closed Dovzhanskyi checkpoint. For the illegal transfer of Ukrainians, he provided four buses and drivers, effectively organizing logistics for the deportation of 214 people to Russia's Krasnodar region.
Most of those transported were children.
"The deputy's actions became part of a planned operation by the aggressor aimed at creating a positive propaganda image: the enemy sought to portray alleged 'care' for Ukrainians," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
After the city was liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the man fled to Russia.
With the support of prosecutors from the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, he was found guilty of collaboration (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and facilitating the illegal transfer of persons across Ukraine's state border (Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
After serving his sentence, he will be banned for ten years from engaging in business activities in the field of cargo and passenger transportation.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, since the suspect is hiding from Ukrainian justice in Russia, the prison term will begin from the moment of his actual detention. The statute of limitations is suspended while he evades punishment.
The convicted man has been placed on the wanted list.
Earlier reports said that a resident of the Zhytomyr region who passed information about Ukrainian military aircraft movements to Russian intelligence services had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
