Kharkiv businessman who helped Russia conduct space reconnaissance against Ukrainian Armed Forces has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, - prosecutor’s office
In Kharkiv, a company director who had collaborated with the Russian military-space sector and helped the occupying forces to conduct satellite reconnaissance of Ukrainian military facilities has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
According to Censor.NET, this has been reported by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
He worked in the Russian space sector
Prosecutors proved that the 49-year-old man, a native of Feodosia, had obtained citizenship of the Russian Federation as early as the end of 2014.
At the same time, he headed a company registered in Volgograd which operated in the fields of metrology, technical inspection and remote sensing systems. The company was a co-contractor on a government contract with the Roscosmos Corporation and Russian Space Systems.
Following the start of the full-scale invasion, whilst in Kharkiv, the man continued to manage the company remotely in the interests of the aggressor state.
He helped set up a satellite for reconnaissance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces
In 2023, Russia launched the "Kondor-FKA No. 1" radar satellite into orbit, which is used by the Russian Ministry of Defence for round-the-clock reconnaissance of Ukrainian military facilities and to identify the positions of the Defence Forces.
According to the investigation, the convicted man organised the work of his subordinates at a special test site in Russia for the calibration, configuration and adjustment of this satellite’s on-board equipment.
To carry out the work, he also enlisted, via Telegram, a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences from Kharkiv, who had drawn up instructions on the use of radar reflectors.
Justified the Russian Federation’s aggression
The investigation also established that, in private messages on Telegram, the man justified Russian aggression, described the war as an internal civil conflict and endorsed the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
During the searches, law enforcement officers seized a Russian passport, Russian bank cards, seals belonging to a Russian company, roubles, and an F-1 grenade with a detonator, which he was illegally in possession of.
What was the court’s verdict?
Although the defendant did not admit his guilt, the court found him guilty of aiding an aggressor state, collaboration, justifying the Russian Federation’s armed aggression, and the unlawful possession of ammunition.
He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, barred for 11 years from holding positions involving the exercise of state or local government functions or the provision of public services, and had his property confiscated.
As the public prosecutor’s office noted, the convicted man’s accomplice had already been sentenced. He fully admitted his guilt and expressed remorse.
