The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) sentenced Leonid Pasichnyk, the leader of the occupation administration of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region, to 12 years in prison in absentia.
This was reported to the SBU.
The trial took place in a special proceeding in absentia (in the absence of the accused). Based on the totality of the committed crimes, Pasichnyk was sentenced to 12 years in prison with the confiscation of all his property.
He was also banned for 13 years from holding positions where it is necessary to perform organizational or administrative duties in any authorities, institutions, enterprises and organizations, regardless of the form of ownership.
According to the case materials, on the eve of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Pasichnyk signed the so-called agreement "on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance" between the "LPR" and Moscow.
In the future, as SBU noted, the Kremlin used such decisions as a formal pretext for starting a major war with Ukraine.
Subsequently, Pasichnyk organized a pseudo-referendum on the "accession" of the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk region to Russia. According to its results, he signed an "agreement on the regionʼs accession" to Russia with the leader of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. After that, the leader of the occupation administration of the Russian Federation in the Luhansk region organized the participation of the temporarily occupied communities in the Russian "elections to the legislative bodies of power."
On the basis of the evidence collected by the investigators, the court found Pasichnyk guilty of collaboration with the enemy (Part 5 of Article 111-1) and of an attempt on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine based on a prior conspiracy by a group of people (Part 2 of Article 110).
Due to the addition of the prescribed punishments, the perpetrator was sentenced to a longer prison term than the articles for his crimes provide.
The term of serving the punishment will be calculated from the date of the actual arrest of the person involved.