A former colonel from Zhytomyr, who worked for the intelligence of the Wagner Private Military Company, has been found guilty of state treason. He has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The Office of the Prosecutor General reported this.
"Based on the public accusation by prosecutors of the Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office, a resident of Zhytomyr, a retired colonel, was found guilty of state treason committed under conditions of martial law (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
The convicted individual has also been stripped of his military rank.
Prosecutors demonstrated that from September 2022 to February 2023, the Zhytomyr resident cooperated with the intelligence of the private military company Wagner. The statement noted that the man had military experience, having previously led the intelligence staff of the missile forces and artillery.
"On the orders of the Russian curator, the convict studied the locations of strategically important objects, military units, the movement routes of Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment, and tracked the presence of defensive objects near administrative buildings and law enforcement agencies," the statement said.
The former colonel recorded intelligence data on a detailed map of the regional center, took photographs, and sent reconnaissance information to the occupiers.
At the same time, he provided the Wagner Group with personal data on the commanders of one of the military units, realizing the severity of his crime. He complained to the curator that he was "risking his freedom" with such cooperation.
The Prosecutor General's Office emphasized that the informant communicated with a representative of Wagner through a banned social network and Telegram. To maintain secrecy, he adopted the call sign "Snarov."
The man was detained in March 2023.
As a preventive measure, the court chose detention with the right to post bail. The funds were paid. However, the man soon violated the obligations and tried to escape to Belarus. He was apprehended while attempting to cross the border, and since then, the traitor has been in custody.
"During the court hearing, the traitor did not admit his guilt. He behaved audaciously and used his health condition to delay the trial. He did not hide his pro-Russian ideological views, confirming his contemptuous attitude towards Ukrainians," the Prosecutor General's Office stated.
