A citizen of Ukraine was detained at the Shehyni – Medyka checkpoint. After the illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea, he sided with the aggressor country and fought against Ukraine. The Russian militant tried to flee to the EU under the guise of a refugee. This was reported by UNN with reference to the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office.
The investigation established that the 33-year-old native of Sumy region, after the occupation of Crimea, received a Russian passport in an illegal "authority." He also processed documents for service in the Russian army and joined Putin's "United Russia" party.
In March 2024, the traitor signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and joined the mobilization reserve for three years. Subsequently, he joined a unit of Russian troops as a UAV operator and went to fight against Ukraine on the side of the occupiers, particularly in the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region. It was established that he launched Russian attack drones on Kherson.
However, the Russian militant later fled first from his firing positions, and then to the European Union. In the EU, he planned to use his Ukrainian passport to obtain refugee status and "lie low."
The traitor was заочно informed of suspicion of treason and put on an international wanted list. He was detained right at the border with Lithuania, served with a notice of suspicion, and taken to the pre-trial investigation body.
The perpetrator is in custody. He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
Recall
Earlier, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko stated that Ukraine would appeal to Lithuania with a request for the extradition of its citizen who fought on the side of Russia, committed war crimes, and committed treason. The man fled to Lithuania.
As reported earlier, an entrepreneur from Lviv region will face trial for doing business in occupied Crimea. After the Russians seized Crimea, the suspect, being a co-owner of a Yalta hotel, re-registered the enterprise under Russian law, thereby effectively recognizing the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. Despite being aware of the illegality of the occupation of the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, he continued his economic activity and interacted with the occupying authorities and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation.