The Khadzhybeiskyi District Court of Odesa has handed down a verdict against Kherson carrier Ihor Odarchenko, who during the occupation of the right bank of the Kherson region ferried people by boats to the left bank.
This is stated in the relevant court verdict.
The investigation established that in August 2022 the man concluded a contract with the municipal enterprise “Khersonkomuntransservice”, under which he organized the transportation of the population across the Dnipro River — from Kherson to Oleshky and Hola Prystan.
The investigation believed that Odarchenko not only carried out entrepreneurial activity and interacted with illegal authorities, but also effectively provided his boats for use by Russian military personnel.
Ukrainian law enforcement detained Odarchenko in November 2022. Since then he has been in custody.
The man was present in court and denied his guilt. He stated that he began carrying out transport services due to difficult financial circumstances and to help local residents, because after the destruction of the Antonivskyi Bridge many people were forced to cross the Dnipro by boats. According to him, he transported passengers at a much lower price than other carriers, and he refused transport to Russian military personnel.
He also noted that some of his boats were later forcibly seized by the military.
A witness who worked as a boat captain said that the primary activity was transporting people between Kherson, Oleshky and Hola Prystan. According to him, he did not see military personnel among the passengers.
At the same time, two passenger witnesses reported that although the boats usually transported civilians, they personally saw Russian military personnel. One of them said that a group of armed servicemen simply got into the boat along with the passengers and crossed to the other bank.
Another female witness said that the military once approached the carrier, after which he allowed them to board the boat out of turn. In her words, it looked forced, and the carrier himself apologized to the people.
After examining the evidence, the court found Ihor Odarchenko guilty of aiding the aggressor state (part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). He was sentenced to 3 years and 3 months of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Time served was credited from the date of his actual detention, as a result of which his sentence is considered served. Therefore, he was released from custody in the courtroom.