Belarusian KGB officer in Kyiv sentenced to 10 years for mercenarism – Ukraine's Security Service

A representative of the Belarusian Secret Service who went to fight against Ukraine as part of the Russian private military company Redut has been sentenced in Ukraine to 10 years in prison for mercenarism.

Source: Press service of Security Service of Ukraine (SSU); Ukrainska Pravda’s sources in law enforcement agencies; SudReporter (Court Reporter) 

Details: According to SudReporter, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of the city of Kyiv handed down the relevant sentence to Belarusian citizen Maksim Ziaziulchik on 18 January 2023.

As the press service of SSU clarified to Ukrainska Pravda, the verdict has now entered into force.

According to the investigation, Ziaziulchik (born in 2000) took an active part in hostilities against the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kharkiv and Kramatorsk fronts as a member of the occupying forces.

As a member of the Veterans unit, Ziaziulchik, as a machine gunner-repeater, held the combat positions of the Russian forces in the occupied city of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, from 21 July to 25 August 2022. His duties included the defence of the communication centre and assistance to the signalmen.

On 22 July 2022, Ziaziulchik participated in hostilities near the village of Krasnopillia, Donetsk Oblast as a mercenary. The group's task was to hold positions in the Duby (Oaks) forest (alternatively known as the Babochka (Butterfly) forest). While at the position, on 30 July 2022, Ziaziulchik was injured and until 24 August 2022, he stayed at the permanent location of Redut PMC in the city of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast.

Despite being injured, on 15 August 2022, Ziaziulchik, as part of the Veterans unit of Redut PMC, was relocated to the village of Svatove, Luhansk Oblast, and later to the village of Korovii Yar, Lyman district, Donetsk Oblast, where he continued to hold the positions of the occupying forces.

At the end of September 2022, Ziaziulchik was captured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the village of Yatskivka, Lyman district, Donetsk Oblast.

The SSU notes that the detainee immediately tried to pass himself off as an "ordinary" militant, and thus wanted to hide his affiliation with the Belarusian special service. However, the SSU military counterintelligence officers "cracked" the offender and obtained information from him about the tasks.

Based on the SSU materials, the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

According to the court materials, the accused pleaded guilty at the hearing and said that he regretted his illegal actions.

The court considered sincere remorse to be a mitigating circumstance. No aggravating circumstances were found.

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