During the occupation of Kupyansk, the woman decided to cooperate with representatives of the Russian Armed Forces. She willingly took the position of deputy head in the pro-Kremlin “Department of Education of the Kupyansk District State Administration of Kharkiv Region.”

Source: Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office

The collaborator held meetings with the staff, coordinated the hiring new employees to the department, determined their salaries, and signed the relevant documents.

In addition, the woman organized teachers’ trips to Russia for retraining and re-certification, provided instructions for introducing textbooks in the Russian language at educational institutions, and provided her subordinates with methodological and advisory materials on the implementation of academic standards of the aggressor state in educational institutions.

  • Law enforcement officers detained the collaborator following Art—208 of the CPC of Ukraine. The suspect is in custody. She will be tried in the Chervonozavodskyi District Court of Kharkiv.
  • The operation was conducted jointly with the SSU Office in Kharkiv region.
  • The maximum sanction of the articles provides for imprisonment for 5 to 10 years with deprivation of the right to take up certain positions or engage in certain activities for 10 to 15 years and with or without confiscation of property.

According to Art. 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and shall not be subjected to criminal punishment until his or her guilt is proved by law and established by a court verdict of guilty.

Ministry of Justice clarifies which teachers should be punished for collaboration under Russian occupation

Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Valeria Kolomiyets explained this issue in the interview with Ukrinform.

“A collaborator is someone who cooperates or heads the bodies of a newly created quasi-republic. If a person, even under occupation, continues to properly fulfil his or her duties assigned by the state of Ukraine, there is no question of collaboration,” she said.

Thus, teachers and other employees who continued to work in favour of Ukraine during the occupation will not be subject to the sanctions of the relevant article of the Criminal Code. Teachers who continue to teach children under the Ukrainian educational program during the occupation will not be considered collaborators.

“Collaboration is a deliberate activity when a person actually does everything to undermine the sovereignty of the state, including getting some benefit from it. We are talking about people who, given the opportunity, take active steps to seize territories, including collaborating with the occupier in order to get some positions. They also transfer material resources to the occupier,” explained the Deputy Minister of Justice.

People who could not leave the temporarily occupied cities and did not commit anti-Ukrainian actions are considered hostages of tragic circumstances, not collaborators. However, those educators who deliberately promote Russian ideology, advocate occupation, and teach students according to the enemy’s program will be punished.

See also

  • Law enforcers identified the “DPR” military who participated in the occupation of the Kupiansk district. An indictment was filed against them on the facts of participation in a terrorist organization and the activities of a military formation not provided for by law.
  • Ex-deputy of Kharkiv city council to be tried for collaboration. The indictment was filed against the 57-year-old former deputy of Kharkiv City Council from the Party of Regions, Igor Telyatnikov, who served as the so-called pro-Kremlin “acting head of the military-civilian administration of the Kharkiv district.”
  • War crimes in Kharkiv Oblast: 37 Russian servicemen notified of suspicion. Crimes committed by the military personnel of the aggressor state and representatives of Russian private military companies must not go unpunished.