Court rules to lock Russian artillery spotter up for life

An FSB asset who had been sending the enemy data on the location of Ukrainian Army positions during the battle of Bakhmut was sentenced to life in prison.

That’s according to the SBU Security Service of Ukraine, whose operatives gathered the evidence in the case, Ukrinform reports.

The perpetrator was detained May 2022 during a counter-subversive raid.

The person in question is a Bakhmut resident, 39, who initially came into an FSB spotlight due to his pro-Russia stance vividly expressed across social media. Eventually recruited by a Russian operative online, the culprit was tasked with gathering intelligence on fortified areas and Army supply routes in and around Bakhmut. The enemy required that information for planning the capture of the settlement.

As a motive behind his criminal activity, the man hoped the invaders would appoint him “Mayor of Sloviansk”. Detectives discovered the corresponding video appeal in the culprit’s phone seized during the arrest.

The traitor had been awaiting the verdict in custody.

The court found him guilty under Article 111 Part 2 of the Criminal Code (treason committed under martial law).

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukraine’s law enforcers detained a Russian asset who is believed to have been sending his handlers sensitive data on Ukraine’s fortifications, strongholds and checkpoints of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and National Police in the Kramatorsk district of Donetsk region.