The Mykolaiv court found guilty of treason the sailor from Ochakiv, who passed on information about the armed forces to the occupiers on Kinburn

The Factory District Court of Mykolaiv found guilty a military man of the AFU who served Ochakiv and cooperated with the Russian occupiers in treason.

This is stated in the court verdict of April 22, writes «Court Reporter».

The serviceman mobilized to the army in May 2022. While serving in Ochakiv, he was assigned the rank of a sailor, whose duties during combat duty included observing through binoculars the movement of the Russian army on the Kinburn Peninsula.

According to the case file, in 2022, for selfish and ideological reasons, as well as not agreeing with the policy of the authorities in Ukraine, a soldier entered into a conspiracy on Telegram with a representative of the Russian Federation and passed him information of a military nature.

The military man himself did not admit his guilt in the accusation. According to him, the Russians were the first to talk to him when he was on sick leave, but at first he thought it was a joke because the message came from a Russian number.

Later, he was called and told, in particular, about the shelling of Maiskyi Island. However, the man believed that the information provided in the messages was not important and did not pose a threat to state sovereignty. He stated that the case against him was fabricated by SSU employees.

«He did not inform the management about the correspondence, because he had a hostile relationship with the platoon commander. In addition, he later believed that he was in correspondence with a representative of the special services of Ukraine, who were provoking him and whom he intended to bring to light. He also emphasized that opening an electronic wallet is not a crime and he did not receive any funds from the aggressor's country,» the court's verdict reads.

At the same time, communication with the Russian military in the Telegram messenger proves the man's guilt in the crime.

For example, during one of the combat shifts, a serviceman using a surveillance device noticed Russian units at the end of the Kinburn spit and warned them that they were observing enhanced security measures and camouflage.

Correspondence from January 2023:

«Tell them not to loom on the peninsula, one night they walked like on the boulevard at the very end all night"

«I will pass it on, of course. I don't know why they went there, maybe it was necessary.»

Correspondence from March 2023:

«Who commands you? Write me his title and full name. Are there foreign instructors?»

«There are no foreigners.»

«Write the rank and name of the commander.»

During the correspondence, the representatives of the Russian army emphasized that since the military man is on an important route and provides valuable information, the management will contact him and, for the purpose of conspiracy, write that they are applying for an advertisement for the sale of a car.

The work was performed for a monetary reward. For this, the man had to create an electronic wallet. But, as evidenced by the data, he did not have time to receive the funds.

«Considering the fact that you are a soldier in a promising direction and the information you provide us has value for us, my boss will contact you. He will write to you «I am about the announcement of the car for sale,» the Russian informed.

«In the area of your location, I am interested in the deployment of military units, the location of equipment, and warehouses. He is also interested in what exactly they are teaching you, who, are there any mercenaries among the instructors,» the head of the unit wrote to him.

«By the way, about the money (the name is not given) he said that with you this question will be resolved,» the Ukrainian military officer asked.

«Money must be earned. In your case, they make money with information. When there will be information on the questions posed by me, then we will talk about money,» answered the interlocutor from the Russian Federation.

The court also interrogated 16 Ukrainian soldiers who served with him and were on duty to monitor the enemy on the spit.

The witnesses said that they did not know about the cooperation of the accused with the enemy, they did not notice it during joint military service and learned about everything on the day of his arrest.

According to the court's decision, the man was sentenced to 15 years in prison with the confiscation of all his property.

The case of Eduard Shevchenko, an expectant

Eduard Shevchenko was the commander of the 73rd Naval Special Forces Center, a veteran of the anti-terrorist operation and a knight of state orders, and also headed the department of the Ochakov city council responsible for security in the city.

After his arrest in March 2023 on charges of treason, in an interview with journalists, he spoke negatively about his years of service in the ranks of the Armed Forces, due to the unfair level of support for military personnel.

The trial of Eduard Shevchenko, who is accused of cooperating with the Russian special services, began on February 6.

On February 8, the Factory District Court of Mykolaiv extended the term of the official's preventive measure for 60 days.

During the next session on March 27, the court studied the evidence provided by the prosecutor in the form of a video recording from the moment of the detention of Eduard Shevchenko in 2023. Among the items seized from the suspect were mobile phones, he voluntarily gave access to one of them to the law enforcement officers.

How is the mayor of Ochakov related to the case of treason?

During the detention of Eduard Shevchenko in March 2023, the SBU reported, in particular, that he had tried to recruit Serhii Bychkov.

According to the case, in 2023, when Eduard Shevchenko was the head of the department of protection and surveillance of the housing and communal services department of the Ochakiv City Council, he received a task from Serhii Kolesnikov to recruit the mayor for a loyal relationship. In a direct conversation with Bychkov in the city council, Shevchenko said that representatives of the Russian Federation want to talk to the mayor.

«He is very careful. He proposed through me,» he told Kolesnikov at the time after communicating with the Ochakiv mayor.

Even after his arrest, Eduard Shevchenko said that he was surprised by the SSU release, which stated that he tried to recruit mayor Serhii Bychkov to work for the Russians.

The Deputy Chairman of the Public Control Council of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, Denys Zhelo, commented on the lack of claims by law enforcement officers against Ochakiv Mayor Serhii Bychkov, whose colleague was arrested for treason. According to Denys Zhelo, the mayor of Ochakiv Serhii Bychkov «was friends in all directions with the Russian intelligence agent Eduard Shevchenko.»

Eduard Shevchenko himself noted that he considers Serhii Bychkov to be the most effective mayor of all those who were in Ochakiv.

It is worth noting that the mayor was almost always closed to communicating with the media. Commenting on this, the head of Mykolayiv RMA Vitalii Kim suggested that Serhiy Bychkov does not address the community and does not report on the results of his work because he is a «non-public person.»