In occupied Melitopol, a man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for donating 500 hryvnias to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
An occupation court in the Zaporizhzhia region sentenced a resident of Melitopol to 14 years in a maximum-security prison on charges of treason. The criminal prosecution was triggered by a transfer of 500 hryvnias to an account linked to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The verdict was reported by the press service of the court established by Russian authorities in the occupied territory of Ukraine.
In the statement, the convicted man was referred to as “P., a resident of Melitopol,” without disclosing his full name. The publication “Kommersant,” citing the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), reported that the individual in question is 31-year-old Dmytro Podgorny. At the same time, “Mediazona” found a case file on the court’s website listing a different spelling of his last name—Podgorsky.
What the man was convicted of
According to the investigation, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the man developed a negative attitude toward the Russian authorities and their policies. In February 2024, he obtained Russian citizenship.
In May of that same year, according to Russian security forces, the man decided to financially support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. To do so, he used a mobile app from a Ukrainian bank and transferred funds to a bank account linked to the Ukrainian military.
The transfer amounted to 500 hryvnias, which, according to the investigation, was equivalent to 1,152 Russian rubles at the time. The man was subsequently identified by FSB officers.
According to *Kommersant*, the defendant pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.
What Sentence Did the Court Impose?
The occupation court found the man guilty of treason and sentenced him to 14 years in a strict-regime penal colony. In addition, after serving his main sentence, he must spend another year under restricted freedom.
The circumstances of the case and the claims made by the Russian investigation are based on reports from Russian judicial authorities and media outlets.
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