SBU detains collaborator who served as guard at Russian prison in Kherson

The Security Service of Ukraine has detained a former guard at a Russian prison that operated during the occupation of Kherson.

"The Security Service has detained another collaborator in Kherson. He turned out to be a local resident who, after the temporary seizure of the regional center, collaborated with the enemy and took a job as a ‘post inspector’ at a Russian occupation prison," the SBU said on Telegram.

According to case materials, after joining the ranks of the Russian repressive agency, he received weapons, Russian-pattern uniform and an "identity document" with which he freely crossed the aggressor state’s checkpoints.

While in his "position," the suspect patrolled the prison perimeter, to which the occupants brought resistance movement participants from across the region. He also stood watch on a guard tower, from which he monitored the prison blocks and the occupation facility’s grounds.

According to the investigation, after the liberation of Kherson the collaborator went to ground at his place of residence. In April of this year, however, he decided to apply for a job at a local law enforcement agency. SBU officers detained the suspect at the stage of submitting documents for enrollment at the state institution, in which he had concealed his "past."

Security Service investigators served him with a suspicion notice under part 7 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (collaboration activities).

The investigation to establish all circumstances of the crime is ongoing. The suspect faces up to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The comprehensive operation was conducted by SBU officers in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Mykolaiv region under the procedural supervision of the Mykolaiv Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Defense of the Southern Region.