Ukraine Security Arrests Local Officials For Treason; Helped Russian Soldiers Occupy Village

Officials for the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) on Monday detained local government officials on suspicion that they collaborated with Russian forces.

The SSU accused the head of the Pervomaisk Amalgamated Territorial Community of Mykolaiv Oblast and the deputy of the Pervomaisk village council of helping the Russian forces occupy the area by offering them accommodation in the villages of Permovaiske, Zasilia, Bilozirka and Kyselivka.

In addition to accommodations, the local government officials — whose identities were not disclosed — also gave food, technical resources and materials to the Russian soldiers, according to a Facebook post.

The SSU noted that the Ukrainian officials prevented locals from resisting the troops or defending the village, which led the area to fall under Russian occupation.

The suspects have already been detained and informed about Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 111 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which discusses treason committed by a group of people with prior conspiracy.

In recent weeks, officials for the SSU have cracked down on individuals working as spies for or collaborating with Russia. Earlier this month, the SSU detained a spy in the Dnipropetrovsk region who was accused of encouraging other “like-minded people” of joining rebellions against Ukraine. The man, whose identity was also not released, was also accused of informing the United Russia party of his actions.

Authorities also captured a spy in the capital city of Kyiv after he helped several Russian-backed internet platforms carry out information operations in Ukraine. The agent allegedly expressed hope that the Kremlin would eventually take over Ukraine.

On May 17, SSU officers detained an individual in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sloviansk on accusations that he communicated vital information about the movement of Ukrainian troops to the Russian troops.

When asked what type of information he gave the Russians, the individual said: "Coordinates, movements and so on. The locations of the hits. That sort of thing. The situation in general, and so on."

The man also said he sold information to a person who identified himself only as “Nikolai” for $17. The individual was recruited through the messaging app Telegram, as first reported by CNN.