The Desnyansky District Court of Chernihiv has handed down a verdict to a native of Mykolaiv Oblast, Oleh Ostakhovskyi, who during the occupation of Kherson worked in a colony seized by Russians.
This is reported on the EDRSR website.
The investigation established that in the summer of 2022 he voluntarily took the position of junior inspector of the 2nd category in the security department of Northern Correctional Colony No. 90 in Kherson, receiving the rank of private of the internal service.
In June 2025, Ostakhovskyi was detained by Ukrainian law enforcement, and since then he has been in custody.
He was present at the court hearing and fully admitted his guilt.
The man said that he was forced to take a job at the seized colony because his pregnant daughter was hospitalized. He looked for work in Kherson but could not find any. He saw a sign that the colony was recruiting staff. He went to apply, but they did not hire him. Later they called and decided to take him on because they lacked staff.
He worked there for 2.5 months, then resigned because the Russians began to demand that he obtain a Russian passport. He did not hold pro‑Russian views, so he refused to obtain the documents.
The court took into account his sincere remorse and assistance in solving the crime. Ostakhovskyi was found guilty of collaborationist activity and sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Recall that, overall since the start of the war, more than 2.6 thousand crimes against national security have been recorded in the Kherson region.