Life imprisonment for high treason: Supreme Court upholds sentence to former security officer who passed data on Ukrainian Armed Forces to Russian special services

The Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court upheld the court's verdict, which found a former law enforcement officer guilty of high treason and illegal handling of weapons, ammunition and explosives (Part 2 of Article 111, Part 2 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

As the courts found, between March and October 2022, the convict, on his own initiative, established cooperation with representatives of the Russian special services. He collected and passed them information about the locations and movements of troops and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Odesa and Odesa region. He also passed on to the so-called curators data on the work of the region's ports and the movement of goods and cargo, including military supplies, by rail.

Following the instructions of the Russian special services, the convict purchased ‘photo traps’ and installed them along the railway tracks in the suburbs of Odesa. They recorded video of passing freight trains. Data from these cameras was transmitted in real time to representatives of the Russian Federation. 

After the man was detained, law enforcement agencies seized explosives and ammunition from him, including TNT blocks, detonators, and fuses.

The panel of judges of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court upheld the decisions of the courts of previous instances and stated that the fact that the convict considered his actions to assist representatives of the aggressor state appropriate, citing disagreement with the policy of Ukraine as a state, did not mean that his actions did not constitute treason. Citizens of Ukraine may express their political views in the forms prescribed by law. Instead, the transfer of information, data, or other actions that directly affect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability, defence capability, state, economic or information security of Ukraine in one or more forms defined by the disposition of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine constitutes treason.

Agreeing with the conclusions of the courts of first instance and appellate courts on the need to sentence the convict to life imprisonment, the panel of judges stressed that in this case there was damage to the object of the offence, such as the national security of Ukraine, the acts committed during martial law were well and clearly planned (an autonomous system was organised to transmit data on the movement of military units and military equipment, the operation of railways and ports in real time directly to the Russian special services), carried out over a long period (from March to October 2022), the subject of the crime used means of secrecy. The fact that the subject of the crime was born in Ukraine, is a citizen of Ukraine, has a law degree, worked in law enforcement, as well as the subjective attitude to the crime - direct intent and the fact of regret for the inability to continue to commit the same actions and sabotage on the orders of Russian special services - were also taken into account. It is the combination of these data that indicates the increased social danger of the act and the need to impose the most severe punishment of life imprisonment on the convicted person.

Resolution of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court of 11 March 2025 in case No. 521/9656/23 (proceedings No. 51-5433km23) - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/125933377.

This and other legal positions of the Supreme Court can be found in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court - https://lpd.court.gov.ua.