Russian artillery observer will serve 15 years in prison

A woman who informed the Russians about the location of Ukrainian troops in the city of Kharkiv was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office

Details: The trial found a 54-year old official of a state enterprise in Kharkiv guilty of treason and sentenced her to 15 years in prison with confiscation of all property belonging to her by right of ownership.

The investigation reports that within the period from 25 February to 9 March 2022, the woman provided her Russian handlers with the information about Kharkiv, specifically places of deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, location of the Ukrainian military equipment and information about points of distribution of humanitarian aid.

She also sent them videos showing damage caused by Russian attacks so that the Russian military could improve the precision of their attacks.

The members of the SSU detained the woman in March 2022, while she was on an intelligence mission.

She contacted the Russian secret service through mediators. They turned out to be two Russians: a military of the Armed Forces of Russia and a militant from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. The SSU states that one of them was killed by the Ukrainian forces on the Eastern front in Ukraine.

The prosecutors remark that the defendant pleaded not guilty in court, calling all the evidence against her "disinformation".  

Nevertheless, on 10 March 2023, the collegium of judges of the Zhovtnevyi District Court of Kharkiv convicted her.

As of now, the appeal period has started. 

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