A resident of the village of Novomykolaivka of the Vysokopil settlement community received a sentence for participating in the holding of an illegal referendum in the Kherson region. It concerns 58-year-old Vira Karpenko, who in 2022 collaborated with the occupying authorities.
This was reported by IRS-South citing the court’s verdict.
The court found that in September 2022 Karpenko was a member of the illegal precinct election commission No. 826, created by the Russian occupation administration.
The commission operated in the territory of Novomykolaivka and the neighboring village of Chereshneve. Karpenko took part in organizing and conducting the so-called referendum, in particular visiting the households of local residents.
Vira Karpenko was detained in April 2024. During the trial she denied her guilt, claiming that she acted under pressure from the occupiers. According to her, representatives of the Russian authorities threatened her, seized her car and used violence against her son. The woman also stated that she did not know about the creation of the illegal election commission.
At the same time these claims were refuted by other participants of the referendum who testified in the case. According to them, no coercion was applied to Karpenko, and for participating in the voting the occupiers promised a cash reward – at first 50 thousand, later 30 thousand rubles. However, as witnesses noted, no one actually received the funds.
The court qualified the woman’s actions under part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and imposed a penalty of seven years of imprisonment with confiscation of all property belonging to her.
In particular, two agricultural land plots totaling about 10.7 hectares will be confiscated from Karpenko.