The Kherson City Court, in absentia, found Yevheniia Kuzmenko guilty of assisting the state-aggressor; she headed the occupation administration of the Novotroitske settlement community of Henichesk district of Kherson region and was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment without confiscation of property.
This was reported by the Center for Journalistic Investigations.
The court found that Kuzmenko actively participated in the activities of the occupation authorities: made anti-Ukrainian statements, took part in organizing mass events, and also participated in holding illegal elections of the President of the Russian Federation and deputies of the State Duma in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region.
Witnesses in court said that at the time of the start of the occupation Kuzmenko did not live in Novotroitske and returned there only after the community was seized by Russian troops. It was also established that she studied and worked for a long time at a theological seminary in Russia. After returning, according to eyewitnesses, she housed Russian servicemen in the homes of local residents, engaged in looting, and traveled to propaganda events in Moscow.
The prosecution sought to impose a sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property, but the court chose a milder decision. In addition to the main sentence, Kuzmenko was banned for 15 years after serving the term from holding any positions in government bodies and from providing public services.
The verdict was handed down under Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — assistance to a state-aggressor. The decision has not yet come into legal force.
Yevheniia Kuzmenko, according to the Center for Journalistic Investigations, is the daughter of Mykola Kuzmenko, a pro-Russian dean of the Novotroitske district, archpriest of the Novokakhovska eparchy of the UOC-MP, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Before the full-scale invasion, Kuzmenko worked in Kherson as a massage therapist.