The Kherson City Court acquitted a resident of the village of Kizomys, Vlas Baranovskyi, who had been accused of aiding the aggressor state. The court concluded that the prosecution had not proven his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The verdict was published on the website of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
According to the investigation, in August 2022 during the occupation the man allegedly passed information to Russian soldiers about pro‑Ukrainian residents of the village and accompanied them to homes where searches were conducted.
In particular, it concerned events on August 15, when Russian soldiers conducted searches at two households, threatened residents with weapons and, according to the victims, seized 80,000 hryvnias, a hunting rifle, and jewelry worth more than 155,000 hryvnias.
The prosecution qualified these actions under Part 1 of Article 111‑2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — aiding the aggressor state.
The defendant himself did not admit guilt in court. He stated that he did not cooperate with the Russian soldiers and that he ended up near them by chance after a conflict with fellow villagers. According to him, the soldiers detained him in the street and forced him to show where one of the local residents lived.
The defense also argued that the case was based only on the testimony of the victims and witnesses who have a conflict with the defendant, and that there are no other pieces of evidence — documents, expert reports, or physical evidence — in the case materials.
The court found that none of the witnesses directly confirmed the fact of passing information or knowingly assisting the Russian soldiers. Most of the testimony was based on hearsay or assumptions. The court also drew attention to the existence of a long‑standing conflict between the defendant and the victims, which could have influenced their testimony.
The verdict states that the case materials do not contain proper and admissible evidence confirming the elements of the crime. In particular, there are no physical exhibits, documents, or expert findings.
Accordingly, the court found the man not guilty and acquitted him due to the lack of proof of the elements of the criminal offense. The preventive measure in the form of detention was revoked — he was released in the courtroom.
Earlier we wrote that the court handed down a verdict against the occupation commander of the colony in Stara Zburivka in the Kherson region, Oleksiy Soroka.