Prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General, together with prosecutors of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor's Office, ensured public prosecution in the case against a former official who headed the occupation administration in the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment with confiscation of all property for collaboration activities, treason, and war crimes (Part 8 of Article 111-1, Part 3 of Article 27, Part 1 of Article 111-2, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). 

The investigation established that after the occupation of part of the Zaporizhzhia region by Russian troops in 2022, the accused voluntarily agreed to head the illegally created authority of the aggressor state and performed organizational and administrative functions aimed at implementing and maintaining the occupation regime.

While managing the occupation administration, he organized the seizure and appropriation of property complexes and agricultural products from Ukrainian enterprises worth over 6.4 billion UAH. The stolen grain and other resources were transported to the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, to the Krasnodar Krai and Rostov region of the Russian Federation, from where they were exported to several countries in the Middle East and North Africa under the guise of Russian products.

This court decision is the first to confirm the violation of the requirements of the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilian populations during war by occupation structures in terms of the illegal appropriation of property belonging to civilians.

The Office of the Prosecutor General and the Security Service of Ukraine continue their work aimed at documenting war crimes and holding those responsible accountable – both at the national and international levels.