The Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia Regional Court has handed down two sentences to residents of Tokmak and Melitopol accused of passing information about Russian military personnel. The decisions were reported by the court’s press service and the local prosecutor’s office.
A 52-year-old resident of Tokmak was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony in a treason case. A 40-year-old resident of Melitopol received 13 years in prison on charges of espionage and online calls for extremism.
According to investigators, the Tokmak resident passed information about the locations of the Russian army to Ukrainian intelligence in the autumn of 2023.
The Melitopol resident was accused of similar actions. Investigators say that until August 2024, he provided Ukrainian special services with data on the deployment of Russian troops in the Zaporizhzhia region. Court materials state that this information could have been used for “artillery and missile-bomb strikes.”
“In addition, the citizen regularly posted in pro-Ukrainian groups on the internet messenger Facebook calls for the killing of servicemen of the Russian army and citizens of Russia,” the Russian court said in its statement.
According to the outlet, citing the case file of the human rights project Memorial, the espionage sentence was most likely imposed on Roman Ryabchik, a 40-year-old resident of Melitopol who was detained on August 24, 2024.