First Ukrainian servicemen found guilty of treason during annexation of Crimea

The former senior sailor, who served in the Crimean maritime forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was sentenced to seven years in prison with deprivation of rank.

The first sentence on the Ukrainian military, who sided with Russia during annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea, was passed by the Obolonsky District Court in Kyiv, the press service of the Military Prosecutor’s Office of the southern region of Ukraine reports.

The court found the serviceman guilty of treason and desertion (Part 1, Article 111 and Part 1 of Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), the Office reports.

“Having assessed and studied the evidence in the court hearing, the court came to the conclusion that the guilt of the senior sailor over the incriminated offenses was fully confirmed. Having taken the military service in the aggressor’s forces, the sailor acted voluntarily. He knew that he broke the oath and his desertion to the occupiers would harm the national security of Ukraine,” the report of the military prosecutor’s office reads.

Earlier it was reported that the senior sailor was native of Mykolayiv, served in Perevalne near Simferopol and sided with the Russian army after the annexation of the peninsula. He was detained by Ukrainian services while crossing the administrative border through Chongar checkpoint.

The Military Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine reported earlier that nearly 5,000 soldiers, who had stayed in Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014, were accused of treason and desertion.