A panel of judges of the Khadjibey District Court of the city of Odesa issued a sentence against the occupation-appointed city mayor of Kherson and former officer of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kobets.
This is stated in the court’s verdict.
As the investigation established and the court confirmed, in March 2022 Kobets left Ukraine for Slovakia, and already in early April returned to the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson Oblast via Crimea.
As stated in the case materials, while in occupied Kherson, Kobets arranged with representatives of the Russian armed forces, in particular with the so-called military commandant of the region, for forceful support to seize control of the city’s administration. This concerns, in particular, pressure on legitimate authorities and employees of municipal enterprises.
On April 25, 2022, armed Russian servicemen entered the building of the Kherson City Council and announced the transfer of the city’s administration under Russian control. The next day a representative of the occupation forces publicly informed the legitimate leadership of the city and municipal enterprises about the appointment of Kobets as the so-called head of the Kherson city administration.
After that he organized the work of the occupation administration in the Kherson City Council building, formed its structure and staffing, and also coordinated the work of municipal enterprises, transport, communications, the fuel and energy sector, and educational institutions in accordance with Russian legislation.
Additionally, Kobets organized the receipt of funds from the Russian Federation budget, implemented the Russian taxation system, facilitated the incitement of separatist sentiments, as well as pressure on pro-Ukrainian residents of Kherson.
The case materials also state that he carried out all these actions with the support of the occupation forces and in constant coordination with the military-political leadership of Russia.
Witnesses were questioned in court — former employees and officials of the Kherson City Council — who confirmed the fact of Kobets’ cooperation with the Russians.
Thus, the former acting director of one of the city council’s departments reported that on April 26, 2022 she, together with other employees, came to the city council building to collect personal belongings. According to her, employees were gathered in the small hall, where a representative of the occupation administration presented the suspect as the new “city head” of Kherson.
During that meeting, according to the witness, officials were offered to work for the occupation authorities, promising high salaries. Oleksandr Kobets himself declared that Russia is in Kherson “for a long time, forever”. At that time, armed Russian servicemen were present on every floor of the city council building.
Another witness — a deputy of the Kherson City Council — confirmed that on the same day a meeting was held in the large hall of the city council in which Kobets was officially presented as the new head of the city from the occupation administration. According to him, the meeting took place accompanied by Russian military, and Kobets himself stated that from now on he would coordinate the functioning of Kherson and offered officials to cooperate with the occupation authorities.
Another witness — the driver and bodyguard of the legitimate mayor — said that in April 2022 Kobets was brought to the city council building accompanied by a representative of the Russian FSB to show him the workplace. According to him, Kobets tried to involve the incumbent mayor in cooperation, but was refused. Later, Russian flags and occupation propaganda began to appear in the city.
The court in absentia found Oleksandr Kobets guilty of state treason (Part 2, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and collaborationist activity (Part 5, Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
For the totality of crimes he was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property and a prohibition on holding positions in local government bodies for 15 years.
Additionally, the court stripped the convict of the military rank of colonel.
Oleksandr Kobets was born in Kherson.
He served in officer operational leadership positions in the Security Service of Ukraine. He then retired on a long-service pension.
After retiring he worked in various private companies. Then he became an advisor to the head of the Shevchenkivskyi district administration of Kyiv.
He also worked in managerial positions related to the internal security of banks.
On October 19, 2022, by Presidential Decree he was placed on the NSDC sanctions list regarding persons who directly or indirectly supported Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.