““The Russian fighter joined the Zorya battalion of the LPR terrorist organization even before the start of the full-scale war.” There he was appointed as a scout shooter””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“One of the prisoners turned out to be a 32-year-old Russian who guarded the Kremlin warlord Yevhen (Zakhar) Prilyepin during his trips to the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region,” the SBU said.
According to the investigation, “a Russian militant joined the Zorya battalion of the LPR terrorist organization even before the start of a full-scale war.” There he was appointed as a sniper-reconnaissance.
The SBU says that “while in the ranks of terrorists, he first fought against the forces of the ATO, and from February 24, 2022, he participated in the seizure of part of the territory of Luhansk region.”
“The other three are traitors from the Luhansk region, who, as part of the 88th and 2nd motorized rifle brigades of the Russian army, captured Siverskodonetsk, Lysychansk and Rubizhne. In addition, they built fortifications for the invaders who stormed Bakhmut. Subsequently, the traitors were dispatched to attack Belogorivka and Verkhnyokamyansk, where they were captured by the Ukrainian troops,” the agency says.
Also, according to the SBU, “two more militants are residents of the temporarily occupied part of the territory of Donetsk region. One of them was initially on duty at the Russian checkpoints in Horlivka, and after February 24, 2022, he fought in the districts of Bakhmut and Pokrovsk.”
“The second – joined the 123rd separate motorized rifle brigade of the Russian army, where, as a machine gunner, he fired at the positions of the Armed Forces near the villages of Pisky and Ozaryanivka. In December 2024, both traitors surrendered to the Defense Forces during the battles near Toretsk,” the SBU clarified.
It is known that according to the materials of the military counter-intelligence and SBU investigators, the five persons involved were informed of the suspicion of the article. 1, 2 Art. 111 (treason) and ch. 7th century 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (collaborative activity).
“The perpetrators face from 15 years in prison to life imprisonment,” the agency concluded.
Zakhar Prilepin is a Russian writer, former militant of the Russian-controlled DPR group and co-chairman of the Just Russia – Patriots – For the Truth party. In January 2023, he signed a contract with the Russian Guard and went to fight in Ukraine.