Supporting businessmen in the Kharkov region during the occupation. Who collaborated with Russian troops

In 2022, representatives of various spheres, including officials, teachers, law enforcement and businessmen, began cooperation with Russian individuals, while more than a third of the Kharkov region was occupied.

Studying the registers and suspicions, we can conclude: the vast majority of cases of cooperation between collaborators are about everyday assistance to Russian troops. This includes repairing cars, equipment, preparing food, washing clothes, providing your own cars and belongings, etc., notes the Kharkov Anti-Corruption Center.

Many farmers from the then-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region are now accused of exporting grain to the Russian Federation, to the temporarily occupied Lugansk region. The Center’s investigators made separate material regarding most of these individuals.

But there were entrepreneurs not from the agricultural sector who either continued their business during the occupation in agreement with the Russians, or established “business” under the “new conditions.” The main complaint of law enforcement against these businessmen is the payment of the so-called. “taxes” to the occupation authorities.

The owner of a cafe in Groza, where Russians killed 59 people: continued business during the occupation, received a three-year suspended sentence

The owner of the Sputnik cafe in the village of Groza, Kupyansky district (40 kilometers from the front line), where on October 5 a memorial dinner was held for the reburied Ukrainian military and where the Russian Iskander-M ended up, was Anatoly Viktorovich Tverdokhlebov. He also has a cafe and a store in the village of Shevchenkovo, three kilometers from Groza.

Tverdokhlebov was convicted of collaboration activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) because he collaborated with the Russians.

A native of the village. Grakovo, Chuguevsky district, Tverdokhlebov was found guilty and was sentenced to 4 years in prison (released from serving the sentence with a probationary period of 3 years) with deprivation of the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity for a period of 10 years, without confiscation of property. This became known from the verdict of the Kyiv District Court of the city of Kharkov dated December 26, 2022.

The prosecutor's office did not agree with this verdict of the trial court and filed an appeal. On April 10, 2023, the Kharkov Court of Appeal left the verdict unchanged. After this, the first deputy head of the Kharkov Regional Prosecutor's Office filed a cassation appeal. The Criminal Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court on October 4 (the day before the Russian missile hit the cafe) left the appeal ruling unchanged.

The case about Tverdokhlebov’s collaborationist activities did not concern the cafe in Groza, it was only about the store in Shevchenkovo.

Tverdokhlebov has been engaged in retail trade of food, drinks and tobacco products in the village of Shevchenkovo ​​since 2000. The court verdict states that Tverdokhlebov received permission from the occupation authorities at the end of February 2022 and, from the end of February to the beginning of May last year, continued to sell Ukrainian-made goods through his store.

It also became known from the verdict that at the beginning of May 2022, Tverdokhlebov received another permit from the Russians, this time to sell Ukrainian and Russian-made goods in the same store. In July last year, Tverdokhlebov turned to the so-called. “tax service” of the occupation administration with an application, to which he attached a certificate of the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity and a certificate of ownership of the store, and also provided documents on the number of employees and the volume of turnover.

Tverdokhlebov received a document certifying the registration of business entities on the territory of the village of Shevchenkovo ​​and gave permission to carry out business activities in cooperation with the occupation administration of the aggressor state, as well as exemption from “taxation” until the end of 2022.

That is, Tverdokhlebov did not pay any “taxes” to finance the occupation regime, because he received a “tax-free period.”

Interrogated at the court hearing, Tverdokhlebov admitted his guilt and sincerely repented.

We talked with Anatoly Tverdokhlebov by phone. After the tragedy in Groza, he was “attention” and began to be called a collaborator.

“The investigators wrote in the verdict that I took permission at the end of February last year to keep the store open. And here until May the Ukrainian authorities were there, working with them. I was given permission by the Ukrainian chairman of the Shevchenko village council Valery Prikhodko. Anyone who could go to Kharkov to buy groceries needed permission to let the car through at checkpoints. They sold Ukrainian. We worked without any interference or approval from the Russians. They were not in the village, but around it,” says Tverdokhlebov.

The entrepreneur says that he did not raise prices because it was difficult for people. “Others raised it, but my meat became cheaper,” says the owner of stores in Shevchenkovo ​​and Groza.

The Shevchenko orphanage assured that Tverdokhlebov provided humanitarian assistance to the pupils during March-June last year, supplying meat, lard, pasta, and cereals.

Tverdokhlebov recalls that on May 27 last year, a decree of the so-called “Head of the military-civil administration of the Kharkov region” from the Russians Vitaly Ganchev, so that entrepreneurs register in the “tax” and registration database of the occupation authorities.

“They gave me 30 days to register.” I didn't run anywhere. There were those who ran immediately. I didn't need it at all. June and July passed like this. I registered on August 19, because they said that you either register, or they take away your business and goods for the needs of the Russian army.

Even those who were not working went to register, because they said that buildings with non-working establishments and shops would still be taken away. I didn't want this. I didn't go there voluntarily. They made me. People needed to buy food somewhere. When travel to Kharkov was closed, the only place they went to buy goods was Kupyansk. Without this application, they would not have been given permission to work. I didn’t pay any “taxes”, they allowed me not to do it until the end of the year,” says Tverdokhlebov.

The businessman complains that he was treated basely, because, according to him, 95% of entrepreneurs, agrarians, farmers of the Shevchenko community received permission from the occupation authorities of the aggressor state, but Ukrainian law enforcement officers have no questions about them. Tverdokhlebov explains it this way: his son from his first marriage serves in the Russian army.

A few more words about the owner of the cafe in Groza: before the full-scale war in Ukraine, he was actively awarded by Metropolitan Elisey of Izyum and Kupyansk, who collaborated with the Russians during the occupation: in May 2020 - the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, in August 2021 - the medal of St. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk .

Tverdokhlebov also provided us with a certificate from the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kupyansk, where the rector confirmed charitable assistance (repair and improvement of the cathedral) from Tverdokhlebov during the temporary occupation.

He also has the same certificate from the Holy Trinity Church in Shevchenkovo.

In 2020, Tverdokhlebov was elected as a deputy to the Shevchenko village council.

A few days after a Russian missile hit a cafe in Groza, the head of the Investigative Department of the Main Directorate of Police of Ukraine in the Kharkov region, Sergei Bolvinov, said that Tverdokhlebov was searched on the very first day, he immediately came under suspicion because he had previously been attracted for collaborationist activities: “The owner We checked out the cafe. We have not obtained information confirming that he was involved in guiding the missile. Therefore, there is no basis to assert that he is involved as of now. It should also be added that the owner of the cafe lost his sister and niece in this tragedy,” Bolvinov said.

As Suspilne.Kharkiv notes, Tverdokhlebov does not plan to restore the cafe and store in Groza. They plan to make a memorial at this place.

“I still mourn everyone in my heart. It's difficult to talk. All memories are suffocating. My sister died, her husband died, and my nephew, her son and his wife, died. Two of my classmates died. I knew almost everyone who died. I talked to everyone before. These are those who participated everywhere: the road repairs also needed to be done - they took on and repaired the potholes, invested their money. It was necessary to clean the cemetery - everyone got together and went and did something. The loss is crazy,” says Tverdokhlebov.

Residents of the Shevchenko community recall that the cafe in Groza did not stop working during the Russian occupation and birthdays were celebrated there, in particular with the participation of Tverdokhlebov. But according to the entrepreneur himself, this cafe did not work during the occupation.

The cafe in Groza became the second one destroyed by businessman Tverdokhlebov during the full-scale invasion.

“Regarding business: I don’t count on help from the state. My second cafe has already been destroyed. Another cafe with a summer area in Shevchenkovo ​​– that’s also a rocket that arrived,” says Anatoly.

Director of the poultry complex: organized the evacuation, received a suspended sentence
Director of the Staroverovsky Poultry Complex JLLC (Shevchenko community, main activity - breeding poultry, growing grain crops) Igor Nikolaevich Laptev last summer, during the occupation, organized the evacuation of residents of the Kupyansky district to the village of Pechenegs, Chuguevsky district (across the Pechenezh dam).

As stated in the court verdict, Laptev, during May-June 2022, agreed with a representative of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and received permission to transport residents of the Kupyansky district to the village of Pechenegs for a monetary reward: 400 US dollars for men and 300 UAH for women. These funds were distributed between Laptev and a representative of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. This difference in amounts is explained by the fact that the Russians were reluctant to release men from the occupied territories.

Laptev found a Mercedes Sprinter car and distributed a transportation schedule among residents of the Kupyansky district, according to which transportation took place on Mondays from the village of Petrovka to Pechenegi.

Laptev was engaged in transportation during June - September last year.

Interrogated at the court hearing, Laptev admitted his guilt completely and sincerely repented.

The court found Laptev guilty of collaboration activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and imposed a fine of 51,000 hryvnia, with deprivation of the right to hold positions in local governments and authorities for a period of 11 years, with confiscation of property. None of the parties filed an appeal, the verdict came into force.

It is interesting that the evacuation from the occupied territories of the Kharkov region on Mondays during June - September last year was carried out by Ukrainian volunteers and charitable foundations under the coordination of the Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine and in cooperation with the Kharkov Regional Military Administration, Territorial Defense Forces, Armed Forces of Ukraine, district military administrations, the Red Cross, the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Emergency Service.

That is, the evacuation took place completely legally, in collaboration with the Ukrainian authorities. It seems that law enforcement officers were not interested in how the Russians released those wishing to leave the occupied territories. Because it is obvious that without agreements with the Russian military, a safe evacuation could not take place. Therefore, it is not entirely clear what Igor Laptev should have done to avoid being sentenced for collaboration.

We tried to get a comment from Igor Laptev, dialed the phone number listed as the contact number for the Staroverovsky Poultry Complex JLLC, but they answered that the enterprise was not operating due to its proximity to the front line, and promised to convey to Igor Nikolaevich our desire for a comment. If Igor Laptev gets in touch, we will definitely add his position.

Brother of Gauleiter Veliky Burluk: organized with his accomplices the supply and sale of fuel from the “LPR”

Three residents of Velikiy Burluk, during the occupation of part of the village, organized a channel for the supply of fuel from the occupied territories and its sale in the village. We are talking about two brothers, 32-year-old Ruslan Usenko and 35-year-old Maxim Usenko, and their friend, 37-year-old Pavel Kovbas.

Pavel Kovbasa is the brother of Alexander Kovbasa, whom the Russians appointed as the so-called “head of the territorial administration of the town. Velikiy Burluk military-civil administration of the Kupyansky district.” Kovbas was replaced in “position” by Evgeniy Yunakov, who died after his car was blown up. Alexander Kovbasa was informed in absentia of suspicion of collaboration and treason. He is also suspected of helping the occupiers export Ukrainian grain to Russia.

Pavel Kovbasa took the “position” of the so-called deputy “head of the territorial administration of the town. Velikiy Burluk military-civil administration of the Kupyansky district.” Previously, Kovbas was informed in absentia of suspicion of collaborationist activities (Part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and of complicity with the aggressor state (Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

At the beginning of April last year, Usenko and Pavel Kovbasa agreed with the occupiers that they would give away part of the profits from their activities if they were allowed to trade in fuels and lubricants.

Usenko and Kovbasa purchased vehicles with “LPR” registration plates for transporting fuel and organized a supply channel from occupied Svatovo and Starobilsk, Lugansk region. Fuel was sold in Bolshoi Burluk (on Tsentralnaya, Pushkina, Transportnaya streets).

The prosecutor's office submitted to the court an indictment against the suspects for collaborationist activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

All three are wanted.

A seller of goods from the Russian military: imprisonment with a probationary period.
A native of the village. Construction worker of the Kupyansky district, Oleg Nikolaevich Demchenko, from July to September 2022, while under occupation, received gasoline and diesel fuel from Russian military personnel, and then sold them to the local population, receiving 2 UAH per liter of products sold. In addition, according to a similar scheme, Demchenko sold grain crops in Kupyansk, receiving fuel and food from the occupiers, which he sold to the local population.

He also voluntarily placed Russian military personnel and representatives of illegal armed groups on a rented plot of land where he built a home, at the address: s. Petropole, Shevchenko community, Kupyansky district.

At the court hearing, Demchenko fully admitted his guilt.

The Kiev District Court of Kharkov, by a verdict of December 20, 2022, found Demchenko guilty under Part 4 of Art. 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to imprisonment for a period of 3 years (with a probationary period of 1 year) with deprivation of the right to hold positions in state authorities and local government for a period of 10 years, with confiscation of property. The verdict came into force.

Deputy of the Shevchenko village council: traded fuel with the permission of the occupiers

 

Member of the Shevchenko village council Nikolai Plutsov, before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was an entrepreneur in the field of sawmilling and planing production.

After the occupation of Shevchenkovo, Plutsov changed his field of activity and received from the occupiers a so-called “patent for trade activities, public catering, public services” with the specification “retail trade in fuel.”

From the beginning of August until September last year, Plutsov sold fuel at gas stations in Kupyansk and Shevchenkovo, where economic activities were carried out by Octanium LLC. Investigators claim that he paid 50,000 Russian rubles monthly to the occupation authorities for the opportunity to conduct business.

On September 6, the Chervonozavodsk Court of Kharkov took Plutsov into custody with the possibility of bail of 53.7 thousand UAH. The prosecutor's office filed a request for detention, without determining the amount of bail.

It was noted that during the investigation, Plutsov traveled to EU countries due to the fact that he has a disability.

Plutsov assured at the court hearing that he did not cooperate with the occupation authorities, did not support Russian aggression, only provided assistance in the form of fuel, gas and food to the residents of Shevchenkovo ​​in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. I purchased fuel and gas at gas stations in Kupyansk. He also confirmed that he could travel outside of Ukraine, since he was diagnosed with disability group II, and in December 2022 he went to the USA to visit his daughter and returned.

Plutsov’s defenders added that the suspect is an honorary citizen of the Shevchenko region, as well as a participant in combat operations in Afghanistan.

In the 2020 elections, he was also elected to the Kupyansky district council from the Svetlichnaya Bloc “Razom!” party, but is now listed only as a deputy of the Shevchenko village council. During 2020-2022, budgetary organizations entered into contracts with entrepreneur Plutsov for UAH 775,000 for the supply of various goods.

The prosecutor's office filed an appeal against the measure, the second instance overturned the decision of the first instance court, taking Plutsov into custody without bail until November 3. The case was transferred to the Ordzhonikidze District Court of the city of Kharkov, and on November 2, Plutsov’s pretrial detention was extended until December 31, without bail. Sentencing is scheduled for December 19.

“Head of the Kupyansky district” in the occupation authorities: organized passenger transportation with the consent of the Russians

At the end of August of this year, the occupation authorities of the Kharkov region, which fled to Russian Belgorod, announced that Alexander Kaplenko headed the so-called “military civil administration of the Kupyansky district of the Kharkov region.”

At the beginning of a full-scale war, Kaplenko was a deputy of the Kupyansky district council from the Svetlichnaya Bloc “Razom!” party.

In October last year, Kaplenko was informed in absentia of suspicion of collaboration activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). He was an entrepreneur in the field of passenger transportation. According to the investigation, the deputy actively collaborated with representatives of the aggressor state.

According to the Youcontrol portal, Kaplenko is a co-owner of ATP Kupyansk LLC and the Borovsk PJSC Oskol. In addition, he has a registered sole proprietorship in the field of passenger transportation.

“Having 69 buses, Kaplenko carried out his activities in the occupied territory with the permission of the so-called “new government.” He organized systematic transportation between the occupied territories. Also, the Russian curators gave Kaplenko consent to a new route: from the Kupyansky district to the city of Krasnodar of the Russian Federation,” says the text of Kaplenko’s suspicion.

According to the SBU, Kaplenko fled to the territory of the aggressor country at the beginning of the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Almost a year after the liberation of Kharkov, the occupiers promoted Kaplenko: from an entrepreneur in the transportation industry to the “head of the district.”

Kaplenko’s case was transferred to the Chervonozavodsky District Court of Kharkov. The next court hearing is scheduled to take place on January 8, 2024.

Grocery merchant: joint “business” with Russians and gratitude from the military
55-year-old resident of Kupyansk Sergei Petrovich Ganus is accused of organizing a “business” in cooperation with representatives of the aggressor state, who allowed him to create a retail outlet on the condition of further payment of interest on the profits.

Ganus sold food products, household chemicals produced in Russia and Belarus, as well as those produced by the so-called “LPR”. He will be held in custody until January 10, 2024, without bail. The case was transferred to the Chervonozavodsky District Court of Kharkov.

When choosing a preventive measure in June of this year (then they chose detention with the right to post bail in 268.4 thousand UAH), Ganus and his lawyer asked to refuse the request for detention, citing the fact that after the de-occupation of Kupyansk he continued to work as an individual entrepreneur, cooperated with the investigation, and during March-September 2022 he helped the communal institution “Kupyansky Psychoneurological Boarding School” with food products.

It became known that from February 10 and at least until June 2023, under an agreement between the Kupyansk city military administration and individual entrepreneur Ganus S.P., administration property (food products for humanitarian aid) was stored on the premises of his individual entrepreneur. On December 4, 2022, the director of the charitable foundation “Kharkov with you” announced gratitude to Ganus “for the constant support of the defenders of Ukraine - both financially, in deeds, and with warmth since 2014.” By order of the commander of one of the military units in May of this year, Ganus was rewarded as a volunteer with the medal “For a Good Deed.”

Other entrepreneurs who cooperated

A resident of the village received an absentee suspicion of collaboration activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Artem D., a Tavilzhan resident of the Dvurechansk community, who before the full-scale war was engaged in the trade of food, drinks, tobacco, and clothing.

On July 19, 2022, the entrepreneur received a so-called “patent for trading activities in the field of public catering and public services” and worked at the market in the village of Dvurechnaya.

The owner and director of Vostok-KMK LLC, Andrei D., during the period April - May 2022, while in the temporarily occupied territory of the village of Borovskoye, Kupyansky district, voluntarily handed over his VAZ car to representatives of the armed forces of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation.

It also became known from the case materials that Andrei D. voluntarily provided representatives of the armed forces of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation with cattle meat, which he raised at Vostok-KMK LLC. In addition, on the basis of oral permission received from representatives of the armed forces of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation, he ordered the employees of his enterprise to sow the land with agricultural crops for their sale on the territory of the Russian Federation, with the subsequent transfer of funds to the occupiers.

Law enforcement officers accuse Andrei D. of organizing the export of sunflower seeds (at least 40,000 kilograms) to the territory of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation. On August 12 last year, Andrei D. filed an application for registration of Vostok-KMK LLC with the occupation authorities. At the end of summer, the company opened an account in Russian currency in a division of the Russian Promsvyazbank.

During the selection of the preventive measure, Andrei D. did not admit guilt. The case was transferred to the Ordzhonikidze District Court of Kharkov. He is in custody without bail.

A resident of the village of Prikolotnoye, Kupyansky district, director of PJSC “Podsredne” Valentin Kurako, who in early March, according to information from the Ukrainian State Security Service in the Kharkov region, voluntarily handed over to representatives of military formations, also received an absentee suspicion of collaborationist activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). of the aggressor state, a mobile accommodation unit on a trailer, sandbags and reinforced concrete structures for the construction of fortification military structures.

Kurako also donated a PAZ bus, a VAZ 2121 passenger car and a Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck to the paramilitary forces of the aggressor state, and also provided the use of a workshop for the repair of Russian military equipment.

In addition, the man was involved in the resettlement of Russian military personnel in the cultural center of the village. Podsrednee with the arrangement of sleeping places, providing beds belonging to PJSC “Podsrednee”, and also organized three meals a day in the canteen of its enterprise.

For this, Kurako received permission from representatives of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation to carry out economic activities of PJSC Podsrednee and LLC Fedorovsky. In May 2022, Kurako instructed the hired workers to sow crops, and in July 2022, to harvest the crops.

At the end of August last year, the entrepreneur decided to register in the so-called. “Tax Service of the Kharkov Region”.

Also accused is a 40-year-old businessman from the village of Semenovka, Kupyansky district, Dmitry K., who was “friends” with representatives of the so-called “VGA of the Kharkov region” and carried out economic activities in cooperation with the occupation administration.

In particular, having received a “patent for trading activities” from the occupiers, he sold wheat for Russian rubles and gave 5% of the profits to representatives of the RF Armed Forces.

Dmitry K. is in custody, the case was transferred to the Ordzhonikidze District Court of Kharkov.

The case of Elena S. is also in court. The next hearing will take place in the Chervonozavodsky District Court of Kharkov on December 12.

The woman is accused of collaborationist activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). During the occupation, she was deputy director of PJSC “Agrofirm “8 March” in the village of Kondrashovka, Kupyansky district, which carried out economic activities in the field of growing grain crops (except rice), legumes and oilseeds.

According to the investigation, Elena S., during the occupation, received from the administration of the aggressor state a patent for trading activities with the specification “wholesale trade in grain, unprocessed tobacco, seeds and animal feed.” The entrepreneur gave 5% of the profits to representatives of the USSR Russian Federation.

In addition, it provided warehouses in the village. Tishchenovka, Kupyansky district for the deployment of equipment of Russian military personnel.

A large business that has agreed to cooperate with the Russians
At the beginning of November last year, a well-known agrarian of the Kupyansky district, deputy of the Kurilovsky village council, Anatoly Golovko, was detained. He was informed of suspicion of complicity with the aggressor state (Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and collaboration activities (Part 4 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

“Golovko, being the owner of agricultural enterprises, helped enemy troops during the occupation of the village of Kruglyakovka, Kupyansky district. Thus, the man voluntarily donated fuel, livestock meat and enterprise vehicles to the Russian military for use by the army of the aggressor country. Golovko was a “guest” at all meetings of the occupation administration. So, after one of the meetings with representatives of the Russian Federation, he ordered his subordinates to collect wheat. One part of the harvest was transferred to the Russian military, the other - to the Russian Federation, with the enemy army receiving part of the profit,” the text of the suspicion says.

According to the SBU, Golovko was one of the first to cooperate with the enemy. To do this, he “re-registered” the agribusiness with the local occupation administration and began paying taxes to the Russian budget.

According to the SBU, the suspect provided the aggressors with access to his own logistics warehouses for basing and repairing enemy military equipment, and also provided fuel for refueling it.

According to the YouControl portal, Golovko is the director and owner of the large agricultural company Mriya Agricultural Limited Liability Company. The company, in addition to Glushkovka, has land in neighboring Novosinovka, Kolesnikovka, Kruglyakovka. Golovko is also the director and owner of the Zhemchuzhina subsidiary of Mriya JLLC in the village of Dobrolyubovka (formerly Dvurechansky district), the director and owner of the Victoria peasant farm in the village of Bogoroditskoye, Luhansk region, the head of the regional hunting and fishing enterprise of the Kupyansky district and Kupyanskaya regional organization of hunters and fishermen, director and owner of the specialized hunting and fishing farm “Mriya” in the village of Glushkovka.

According to “YouControl”, Golovko was elected to the Kurilovsky village council in 2020 from the “Servant of the People” party. At that time, Anatoly Golovko’s wife Galina and his son Dmitry also ran for the village council as “servants.” They also became deputies.

According to “Kharkiv Today”, the Kharkov regional organization of the “Servant of the People” party deprived Golovko of his mandate on the people’s initiative.

In 2015, Anatoly Golovko was elected to the Kupyansky District Council from the Petro Poroshenko Solidarity Bloc party, and from 2010 to 2015 he was a deputy of the Kupyansky District Council from the Party of Regions.

Golovko’s case was transferred to the Chervonozavodsky District Court of Kharkov. The businessman is in custody without bail.

At the end of October last year, Alexander Radchenko, director of the Kupyansky milk canning plant, was detained on suspicion of collaboration with the Russians.

At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Radchenko was a deputy of the Kupyansky district council from the Servant of the People party and the general director of KMK.

Radchenko was detained on suspicion of supplying products to Russian occupiers and to the territory of the so-called “DPR.” This became known from releases from the prosecutor’s office and the SBU.

According to the prosecutor's office, Radchenko, during the occupation of Kupyansk, entered into contracts with representatives of the so-called “military-civil administration of the Kupyansk region” for the supply of plant products, and gave instructions to his subordinates to transfer dairy products to the occupiers so that the Russian army would not starve.

To carry out illegal activities, the director of the dairy canning plant “re-registered” the joint-stock company with the so-called “tax service” of the occupation administration. Then he opened accounts in one of the Russian banks and transferred all the company’s settlement transactions into rubles.

Radchenko entered into an agreement for the supply of dairy products with the “military-civil administration of the Kupyansky district” for a total amount of 3,641,313 Russian rubles.

Also, from May to September 2022, he entered into agreements for the sale of dairy products with Aurora LLC (Lugansk), as stated in the agreement, for an estimated amount of 100,000,000 (one hundred million) Russian rubles, ABUNDANCE LLC ( Lugansk) for an estimated amount of 100,000,000 (one hundred million) Russian rubles, LLC “Production and Commercial Firm “Stone House” (Lugansk) and LLC “LPS” (“LPR”).

As Kharkiv Today reports, in mid-July last year, Russian propagandists showed the “diversity” of products in occupied Kupyansk. The footage captured products from a local plant: condensed milk, drinking yogurt, butter, sour cream. The labels were in Russian, in particular, one could see the inscription “Condensed milk”.

Alexander Radchenko in 2020 was number one on the list of candidates for deputies of the Kupyansky district council (elected) and for the Kharkov regional council on the list of the Servant of the People party (failed). In 2010, he also tried to be elected to the Kharkov regional council from the Batkivshchyna party, but it didn’t work out then either. From 2005 to 2010 he was the head of the Kupyansk Regional State Administration.

According to “Youcontrol”, Radchenko owns 70.2% of PJSC “Kupyansky Milk Canning Plant”, another 29.8% is registered to Radchenko’s wife.

The Kharkov regional faction of the Servant of the People party took the mandate from Radchenko.

Radchenko’s case on the fact of aiding the aggressor state (Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) was transferred to the Novomoskovsk city district court of the Dnepropetrovsk region. The director of the plant is in custody without the right to post bail.

According to the SBU, an agrarian from the Chuguevsky district, ex-regional deputy of the Kharkov regional council Oleg Suprun collaborated with the Russian occupiers. He received suspicion in absentia for assisting the aggressor state, complicity with the Russian army and occupation administration (Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Now Suprun’s lawyer is trying to cancel this suspicion in the Kiev District Court of Kharkov. The court refused to satisfy the request of the Ukrainian State Security Service in the Kharkov region to conduct a special pre-trial investigation against Suprun.

Suprun electronically submitted written objections to the court. The ex-deputy of the regional council focuses on the fact that he did not hold any positions in the occupation administration of the Russian Federation, never traveled outside the village of Kirillovka, and did not meet or communicate with anyone from the occupation administration of the Russian Federation. Suprun said that the aggressors demanded that he, as a public figure, come out in their support and re-register the enterprise under Russian law.

He allegedly resisted as best he could, but did nothing that was demanded. The entrepreneur also notes that he is an honored worker of agriculture in Ukraine, an honorary citizen of the Volchansky district, and was awarded the insignia of the Kharkov Regional Council “Slobozhanskaya Glory,” which means he is a patriot of Ukraine.

Suprun reported that he allegedly disabled an excavator so that the invaders could not dig trenches, broke down the enemy “Grad” at gunpoint, and transmitted information about the movement of enemy columns through the village to the head of the Pechenezh OTG.

Suprun’s defense attorney noted that his client, due to the fact that it was not possible to travel to the territory of Ukraine during the occupation of the village, went with his family to the territory of the Russian Federation, where they stayed for several days, after which they left for the territory of a European Union country. On June 16, 2022, Suprun received a temporary residence permit in Belgium, where he lives with his family.

Suprun Oleg Nikolaevich – director and owner of JLLC Agrofirm named after. Shevchenko in the village of Kirillovka, Chuguevsky district (before the consolidation of Volchansky district). This is one of the largest enterprises in the area.

The text of the suspicion states that since March 2022, Suprun has voluntarily provided fuel to the Russian army on an ongoing basis, 20 liters daily. The agrarian also instructed the employees of his enterprise to repair Russian military equipment and store it in the enterprise’s garages. According to the SBU, the agricultural company's vehicles were used by the Russian army to move and build fortifications. But the owner received permission to conduct a sowing campaign and further harvest.

In addition, Suprun, according to the SBU, back in March 2022, instructed the employees of his enterprise to help the Russian military transport concrete blocks for setting up checkpoints with the equipment of his enterprise. In April, the agrarian ordered the cutting down of trees to create dugouts for the Russian army. At the same time, Suprun gave instructions to use a Manitou telescopic loader to help the Russian military remove the Grad artillery mount from the ditch. To do this, the farmer personally went to the scene of the incident.

In the period March-May 2022, according to the SBU, Suprun, having good relations with the occupation administration and the Russian military, began to issue agricultural firms to them with his signature and seal. Shevchenko certificates for employees of the enterprise and residents of the village of Kyrylivka for free movement during curfew.

According to the “Honestly” movement, in 2020 Suprun ran for the Kharkiv Regional Council from the “Servant of the People” party, but was not elected.

In 1998 and 2002, Suprun was elected to the Volchansky District Council, in 2006 he became a deputy of the Kharkov Regional Council from the Party of Regions and headed the standing commission on agricultural policy. In 2006 and 2007, he ran for the Verkhovna Rada from the Party of Regions, but was not elected, and in 2010 he was elected to the Krasnoarmeysky village council of the Volchansky district from PR, and already in 2015 he became a deputy of the Kharkov regional council for the second time from the party “Our Land”.

According to the YouControl portal, from 2005 to 2010, Suprun was the head of the Volchansky district organization of the Party of Regions. Now he is the director and owner of a private agricultural enterprise named after. Shevchenko, director and owner of JLLC Agrofirma named after. Shevchenko and the head and owner of Resox LLC, which specializes in breeding dairy cattle.

It is interesting that the article of the newspaper “Selskie Vesti” dated August 2017 indicates that the agricultural company named after Oleg Suprun Shevchenko transferred a two-seat Robinson-22 helicopter to the ATO zone for the “Alpha” special forces.

The President of the Association of Private Employers in the Kharkov Region, Alexander Chumak, says that while part of the region was under occupation, there were no appeals from private entrepreneurs to the Association. “Now we provide operational support for restoration: training, consultations, and help raise funds for restoration,” says Chumak.

Response from law enforcement agencies and the Kharkov regional military administration
According to the GUNP in the Kharkov region, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, nine private entrepreneurs from the Kharkov region have cooperated with the Russians and have cases against them under Part 4 of Art. 111-1 were sent to court.