Russia Sentenced Two Ukrainians to 12 and 11 Years of Strict Regime Imprisonment after Accusing Them of Attempting to Assassinate the Occupation “Mayor” of Berdiansk

The Southern District Military Court of Russia has announced the verdict for Vitalii Rastorhuiev and Volodymyr Kryvtsun. The men were accused of preparing an act of international terrorism for allegedly intending to blow up a car carrying the head of the occupation military and civil administration in Berdiansk, as the publication Crimean Process reports.

Russian judge Oleksii Mahomadov found Vitalii Rastorhuiev guilty and sentenced him to 12 years of imprisonment, with the first three years served in prison and the remainder in a strict regime colony. Volodymyr Kryvtsun was sentenced to 11 years, the first three of which he will also serve in prison and the rest in a strict regime colony.

Vitalii Rastorhuiev. Photo: Crimean Human Rights Group

Earlier, Russian propaganda media reported that in July 2022, Rastorhuiev allegedly installed an explosive device in the car of the head of the occupying Berdiansk military and civilian administration, Oleksandr Saulenko, but it failed to detonate. The “saboteurs” were then detained on the report of “vigilant citizens.”

Oleksandr Saulenko, Berdiansk Gauleiter. Photo from open sources

After that, Rastorhuiev’s fate remained unknown for several months. The propagandists claim that the man confessed to acting “under the instructions of his supervisors from the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Main Intelligence Directorate.” As a reward for completing the task, he was allegedly promised help to pay off his loans and relocate his family to the Kyiv-controlled territory. Russian security forces asserted that the man had been recruited through the civil movement “Resistance.”

This article was prepared with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.