The definition of "collaborationism" for Crimea should be changed taking into account the specifics of the long-term occupation of the peninsula, Head of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol Ihor Ponochovny has said.

"In my opinion, most of those who remained there [in Crimea] are not traitors. It is more difficult to determine whether they are collaborators," he told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to Ponochovny, the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on collaborationism, which appeared in the spring of 2022, in fact, covers 99.9% of those living in Crimea.

"It seems to me that this article was more focused on those who found themselves under occupation after February 24, 2022, it was written without taking into account the specifics of the long-term occupation of Crimea," the prosecutor of the autonomy said.

Ponochovny said the Ukrainians who remained on the peninsula worked, did business, and studied. "All these years we have been communicating with the Crimeans, explaining that they are not traitors, a significant part of them are victims of the armed conflict," he said.

"And the article about collaborationism, without taking into account the specifics of the long-term occupation of Crimea, is somewhat dangerous, and Russia is manipulating this. The occupiers have previously told the Crimeans not to go to the mainland of Ukraine, because they are considered traitors there and will be imprisoned. Now the enemy, appealing to the article about collaborationism, he tells the Crimeans that they don't need to go to Ukraine and Ukraine doesn't need to go to Crimea either, because everyone will end up behind bars," Ponochovny said.

He said the prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has repeatedly raised the issue of changing the definition of "collaborationism" in the context of Crimea at different venues, the position of the prosecutor's office is shared by non-governmental organizations and the presidential office in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

"I hope that the legislators listen to it," the prosecutor of Crimea said.

Speaking about what exactly should be changed in the article of the Criminal Code, the prosecutor of the autonomy explained: "In my opinion, it makes sense to supplement the article by indicating the purpose of cooperation with the occupation authorities, for example, 'in order to strengthen the defense capability of the aggressor state."

At the same time, according to Ponochovny, changes to this article should be approached in a balanced way, "because they can provoke a certain chaos – a review of sentences for collaborators in the territories liberated from occupation."

The prosecutor of the autonomy drew attention to the fact that Ukrainian law enforcement officers have identified priorities in investigations of collaborationism.

"We assess the proportionality of cooperation with the enemy with the consequences: harm, public danger that such cooperation caused. We report suspicions to officials, judges, law enforcement officers who are appointed to positions in Crimea from the spring of 2022, businessmen collaborating with law enforcement agencies, propagandists," he said.

Ponochovny said: "We should not turn into an authoritarian state in which the rule of law is an empty phrase, like in Russia. Our task is to punish the guilty and not touch innocent people."