23:37, 5 September 2024

Resident of Rostov Region sentenced for trying to help Ukrainians

The Rostov Regional Court has sentenced Novitsky, a 61-year-old local resident, to 3.5 years in colony, finding him guilty of attempting to cooperate with a foreign state.

Law enforcers introduced themselves to him as employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). According to the prosecution, in July 2023, Novitsky contacted a subscriber via messenger who, as he believed, was associated with the SSU. The man expressed a desire to help the Ukrainian special services "in activities against the Russian Federation," the Rostov Regional Prosecutor's Office has reported.

From November 2023 to February 2024, he offered his interlocutor "options for his participation in countering the Russian Federation." The Prosecutor's Office gives no details on what these options were or whether they posed a real public danger.

After detention, Novitsky "has fully admitted his guilt and repented," the "Donnews" outlet has noted.

The criminal article on confidential cooperation with a foreign state, introduced in 2022, provides for three to eight years of freedom deprivation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 5, 2024 at 03:45 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot