The court found a 47-year-old resident of the Kherson region guilty of collaborationist activities and of producing and disseminating materials that justified the occupation of Ukrainian territory.
This was reported by the press service of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to journalist Oleh Batyrin, this concerns Yuliia Sipko.
The investigation established that the accused voluntarily joined the work of the occupation’s propaganda television channel “Tavriya”, where she created materials aimed at supporting the occupation administration.
In September 2022 she covered the ‘voting’ at one of the illegal polling stations during the pseudo-referendum in Kherson. In the reports she propagated claims that justified Russia’s actions and narratives about “a single family with the Russian Federation” and “support from local residents”.
From May 2023 the woman continued informational activities in favor of the “United Russia” party, campaigning for herself as a political candidate. In September of the same year she took part in the illegal elections as part of the party list and received the so‑called mandate of a deputy of the occupation Kherson Regional Duma.
By the court’s verdict the woman was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property, as well as a 15‑year ban on holding positions in state authorities, local self-government bodies and engaging in activities in the field of media or journalism.
Recall, earlier Yuliia Sipko worked as a methodologist at the Kherson Regional Center for Retraining and Advanced Training of Employees of State Authorities, Local Self-Government Bodies, State Enterprises, Institutions and Organizations.
Before that she was head of the laboratory for improving the training of civil service and local government personnel at the Kherson Regional Center for Retraining and Advanced Training of Employees of State Authorities, Local Self-Government Bodies, State Enterprises, Institutions and Organizations.