LUGANSK, December 22 (Lugansk Media Centre) - The Lugansk People’s Republic Supreme Court has sentenced a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) agent who infiltrated the LPR in a prisoner exchange, to 17 years in prison for espionage, terrorist attack preparation and illegal turnover of explosives and ammunition, the LPR State Security Ministry (MGB) press service reported.
Taras Oleksiyenko, a native of the Kiev region, agreed to cooperate with the SBU when he was in a pre-trial detention centre. In December 2019, the SBU arranged his participation in a prisoner swap as a political prisoner to infiltrate the LPR, the MGB said.
At the SBU’s order, Oleksiyenko joined the LPR People’s Mmilitia to collect and pass data on militiamen and movement of hardware. He was also preparing a terrorist attack on a public place in Lugansk.
“The foreign secret services’ plan was to cause a large number of civilian casualties and discredit LPR law-enforcement bodies,” the MGB said.
Oleksiyenko was found guilty of the above crimes and sentenced to 17 years and fined the amount of 17 minimum wage levels.
Cooperation with foreign secret services is prohibited in the Republic and punished by up to 20 years in prison with property confiscation.
The footnote to LPR Criminal Code Article 335 (High Treason) and Article 336 (Espionage) says that a timely report on recruitment by a foreign secret service exempts from criminal responsibility.
The LPR State Security Ministry asks residents to report all illegal actions by Ukrainian servicemen, volunteer battalions, police or secret services by calling +38 (642) 34-51-64, +38 (99) 562-89-02, +38 (72) 163-28-00 or writing to mgb.lnr@yandex.ru .
