A retired colonel from Zhytomyr, who worked for the intelligence of the terrorist organization Wagner Group, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property for treason committed under martial law.
The Russian media cover the court proceedings in Ukraine in a very particular way, choosing the right perspective for propaganda. Here, accusations of treason are shown as heroism and an example to follow. The recent news about the sentencing of a retired colonel from Zhytomyr, who worked for the intelligence of the terrorist organization Wagner Group, was presented as an “outrageous process in Ukraine.”
“All in all, he was given a death sentence, but the elderly man was not afraid and in his last words he read poems addressed to the monstrous Zelensky’s prosecutors and authorities,” writes one of the propaganda sites.
Some Russian Telegram channels even declare that “only for the sake of this elderly man, we need to reach Zhytomyr.”
What Russia presents as heroism is actually treason, and in Russia itself it would be interpreted and tried similarly (treason is punishable by up to life in prison — ed.).
From September 2022 to February 2023, the former colonel actively cooperated with the intelligence of the terrorist organization Wagner Group. The prosecutors of the Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor’s Office proved that the retired colonel, “performing the tasks of a Russian curator, studied the location of strategically important objects, military units, the number and routes of movement of military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, monitored the presence of defense facilities near administrative buildings and law enforcement agencies.”
In addition, the “82-year-old senior” collected and passed on the profile data of the commanders of one of the military units to Wagner. “At the same time, he was aware of the gravity of his crime and complained to the curator that for such cooperation he was risking his freedom,” reports the General Prosecutor Office.
The accused criminal also tried to flee to Belarus, but was detained while trying to cross the border. After that, he was kept in custody, and in January 2024 sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property for high treason committed under martial law (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
StopFake repeatedly refuted similar fakes related to the trials of traitors in Ukraine in the materials: Fake: Woman Jailed for 10 Years for Corresponding With Sister in Russia, Manipulation: Odesa Man Sentenced to 15 years in Prison for Hanging a Russian Flag, Manipulation: Ukrainian Senior Will Go to Trial For Organizing Football Matches During Occupation.
