Ukraine jails man for aiding Russian forces in Donetsk

A Ukrainian serviceman kisses his partner after she arrived by train from Kyiv, on the platform of a railway station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, on Jun. 15, 2024. (AFP)

• Prosecutors in Ukraine have opened thousands of criminal cases into collaboration since Russian forces invaded in February 2022
• The regional prosecutor’s office said the man had committed high treason by passing information on the location of Ukrainian troops in the area to Russian forces

KYIV: A Ukrainian man has been handed 15 years behind bars for passing sensitive military information to Russian forces, prosecutors in the eastern Donetsk region said on Tuesday.
Prosecutors in Ukraine have opened thousands of criminal cases into collaboration since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.
The regional prosecutor’s office said the man, who was not identified, had committed high treason by passing information on the location of Ukrainian troops in the area to Russian forces.
“Fifteen years behind bars — Russian agent who directed hostile attacks on Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and armored vehicles is sentenced,” it announced in a statement.
The prosecutors said the resident of Kostyantynivka, a town near the frontline, had disclosed in May last year locations of Ukrainian troop deployments and movements of Kyiv’s artillery in the region via the Telegram messenger service.
It said the man’s Russian handler had promised payment in return but had not made good on the promise.
Russian forces are making steady gains in the industrial Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia, as Ukraine suffers critical manpower and ammunition shortages.
The United Nations said last year that Ukraine had opened more than 6,600 criminal cases “against individuals for collaboration and other conflict-related crimes” since the war began.