The former prosecutor of the Kakhovka District Prosecutor’s Office of Kherson Oblast, Kostiantyn Petrenko, has been notified of suspicion of state treason.
This is stated in the text of the notice of suspicion published on the website of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
According to the investigation, during the occupation of Kherson he agreed to cooperate with the occupiers. In particular, Petrenko collected, analyzed and transmitted information that was of interest to Russia and could have harmed Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and defense capability.
The investigation established that from September 2022 Petrenko served as head of the legal and personnel divisions in the temporarily occupied Department of Tourism and Resorts of the military-civilian administration of Kherson Oblast.
Subsequently he continued to work in the illegal government bodies, in particular heading the relevant department in the so-called Ministry of Tourism of Kherson Oblast.
In July 2023, while in the temporarily occupied left-bank part of the Kherson region, Petrenko took the position of deputy minister of tourism, and from November 2023 — first deputy minister of the occupation’s Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of Kherson Oblast.
According to the investigation, in performing these functions he facilitated the establishment and strengthening of the Russian occupying authorities and obstructed the restoration of Ukraine’s control over the region.
Law enforcement classify the suspect’s actions as state treason committed under martial law, under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
From 2017 to 2021, Kostiantyn Petrenko held the position of deputy head of the Henichesk local prosecutor’s office of Kherson Oblast.
In April 2023, by decision of the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors, Petrenko was dismissed from the prosecutor’s office for a single gross violation of the rules of prosecutorial ethics and internal service regulations.