Tied to lampposts with cable ties, heads bowed under hoodies and subjected to hatred from local residents, two Ukrainians accused of collaborating with Russian occupation forces are currently parading in the liberated city of Kherson. Humiliated, the alleged employees await their punishment. But they are not the only ones.
Those who took advantage of the Russians must now hold themselves accountable. In his evening speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (44) spoke about the “neutralization of saboteurs”. The authorities called on the population in Kherson to locate the traitors – or collaborators.
During eight months of occupation, Kherson’s Ukrainian population was divided into those who stood up to the aggressors – even risking their lives – and those who joined the invaders. The latter took over several high government posts. In between, ordinary people lived just trying to survive.
“Everyone is punished”
According to Ukrinform, no employee will be able to escape responsibility before the law, said Roman Golovnya, adviser to the mayor of the city of Kherson. And: “Everyone is punished.”
At the beginning of the war, Ukraine enacted new laws to curb cooperation with the enemy. As the Wall Street Journal reports, voluntary entry into the Russian education system has been punishable by three years in prison since March. Anyone who takes a high position in a Russian government gets up to 10 years, and anyone who helps the Russians with law enforcement gets up to 15 years. Ukrainians responsible for the death of another Ukrainian face a life sentence.
What happens in the event of involuntary cooperation?
According to Ukrinform, the Ukrainian secret service has already exposed more than 700 employees since the start of the war. As the “Guardian” reported in the past, Ukrainians want to punish those responsible “quickly and severely”. But there are different forms of cooperation. “There are people who were looking forward to switching sides, there are people who worked together because they wanted to save their lives,” Ilko Boschko, a Ukrainian military official, told the newspaper. “And there are also people who had to work together at gunpoint,” he continues.
Ukrainian authorities say everyone will get a fair trial. “It’s not enough for someone to come up to us and point the finger at someone else and say, ‘This is an employee,'” Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the investigation department of the Ukrainian National Police in the Kharkiv region, told the Wall. . Street news. .
There have already been some convictions. In Luhansk, for example, a collaborator was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He had passed on information about Ukrainian troops to the Russians during the occupation.
Many have already fled from liberated areas
Many collaborators left Ukraine when the defeat became apparent. Because they know they can’t get away with it. But not everyone managed to escape. “Those who could not escape are trying to disperse among the peaceful patriotic people,” Golovnya said.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear why the two Ukrainian collaborators have been tied to the lanterns pending their “fair trial”. However, according to the Meduza news portal, there have always been attempts to assassinate Ukrainian officials who allegedly helped the Russians. In the war chaos, it is also difficult to determine who cooperated voluntarily and who was forced. The Ukrainians are divided, according to the “Spiegel”, some even fear that a civil war could break out.
According to the Daily Mail, the Ukrainian military believes that Russian soldiers can be camouflage or hide. In addition, the entire city is being destroyed, power and water supplies are being affected and individual parts of the city are being mined. Between hugs and tears of joy, fear still hangs in the air – for the fight is not over yet.