Counterintelligence officers of the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) have exposed an assistant forester at a state forestry enterprise in the Kharkiv region who, together with the Russian forces, took part in the shooting of a Ukrainian Armed Forces vehicle during the battles for the city of Izium in April 2022.
According to the case materials, the official, together with militants from the Wagner group, attacked an SUV carrying Ukrainian soldiers in a forested area of the Izium district.
The suspect not only helped the Russian forces set up an ambush along the route used by the Defense Forces, but also directly participated in the attack on the Ukrainian servicemen.
The investigation established that, in order to commit the crime, the forester “gained the trust” of servicemen from one of the territorial defense brigades. He offered them his “assistance,” assuring them that he knew the local terrain well, including the surrounding forests.
In reality, however, the forester had established contact with the Russian forces at the very beginning of the full-scale invasion and offered them his cooperation in the war against Ukraine.
As a result, in April 2022 the suspect passed information to the Russian forces about the planned route of a Ukrainian Armed Forces vehicle through a forested area in the Izium district. Moreover, he received automatic weapons and ammunition from the Russian forces and personally took part in the attack on the SUV.
After the deoccupation of the Izium district in the autumn of 2022, the forester attempted to “lay low” in order to evade justice. However, SSU and DBR officers documented his involvement in the crime, established his whereabouts, and detained him.
The perpetrator is currently in custody. He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
