Ukrainian court jails woman who wrote pro-Moscow reports to 14 years in jail
Kyiv has charged thousands of people with collaborating with Russia since the February 2022 invasion
A Ukrainian court on Friday sentenced a woman to 14 years in jail for working with Russia's intelligence agencies to write fake reports justifying Moscow's invasion.
Kyiv has charged thousands of people with collaborating with Russia since the February 2022 invasion, in cases that include people handing military details to Russia's army or local officials in occupied territory who switched to work for Moscow-installed authorities.
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It has also arrested several people it accuses of being Russian spies and undermining Ukrainian security. Prosecutors did not name the Ukrainian woman, the head of a human rights NGO, who was jailed for 14 years for treason.
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Prosecutors said the woman -- "having received an assignment from Russian curators" -- wrote a letter to be used by Russia's envoy at the United Nations "justifying Russia's military aggression".
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"The defendant wrote that the people of Ukraine support the so-called special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, that looting, murder, robbery had begun in Ukraine, and that politicians were officially calling for 'killing Russians'," the Kyiv prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The letter was read out at the UN by Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's permanent representative, and cast as justification by Moscow for its invasion.
Russia said at the time it was seeking to protect ethnic Russians and Russian speakers living in Ukraine, as well as "demilitarise" and "denazify" the country.
Kyiv and the West have repeatedly rejected Moscow's claims, saying Russia's invasion is an imperial-style war of aggression.
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