(MENAFN- UkrinForm) This was reported in an interview with Ukrinfor by Pavlo Uhrovetsky, head of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.

He noted that the issue of collaboration in Donetsk region has become particularly acute in recent years and covers a wide range of actions – from deliberately assisting the occupation administrations in captured communities to spreading propaganda or providing the enemy with information of military significance.“For the most part, the main motives are utilitarian: some are promised material bonuses and preferences from the occupation structures, such as career prospects, by representatives of the Russian Federation or the”DPR,“ while others act out of ideological convictions,” the prosecutor emphasized.

He emphasized that a special category among collaborators are law enforcement officers - those who were supposed to protect, but instead collaborated with the enemy.

"From 2022 to the present, more than 2,000 criminal proceedings have been initiated on the basis of collaboration... Alongside thousands of professionals who stood up to defend the state from the very first days of the war, there were those who betrayed their oath and sided with the occupiers. Almost 500 criminal proceedings have been registered against former law enforcement officers in Donetsk region," said Uhrovetsky.

He added that the investigative authorities are paying particular attention to the so-called judicial authorities who are passing worthless court decisions in the quasi-republic. In fact, they are part of the repressive mechanism used against Ukrainian citizens.

The head of the prosecutor's office gave an example:“Now, the court is hearing a case against a former judge of the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal, who worked in various judicial institutions for over 20 years and then went to work for the occupiers. She held the pseudo-positions of”chair of the DNR military tribunal“ and”judge of the supreme court." The former servant of Themis was the first in the history of the 'DPR' to sentence a Ukrainian citizen to death."

Uhrovecky also recalled that among those who supported the invasion of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil was the former mayor of Sviatohirsk, who worked for the enemy from the first days of the partial occupation and openly thanked the occupiers.

“Despite the fact that he fled with the Russian troops, we brought him to criminal responsibility and sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. He will serve his sentence after his arrest,” the prosecutor said.

In addition, more than 300 criminal proceedings have been opened in Donetsk Oblast on the basis of collaboration by educators.

“Of the 309 criminal proceedings on the basis of collaboration by educators, 236 are currently being considered by the courts. Fifty-eight convictions have been handed down,” said Pavlo Uhrovetsky.

He noted that education is traditionally perceived as a sphere of trust, humanism, and the formation of civic consciousness, but under occupation, the enemy is turning it into an instrument of propaganda and ideological influence, with the goal of eradicating everything Ukrainian from children's minds and sowing seeds of hatred and rejection of the cultural, historical, and spiritual values of the Ukrainian state.

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“Understanding all this, some teachers still took up leadership positions - from deputy directors to 'ministers of education'. They all focused their work on creating an environment in which the identity of the younger generation could be changed,” Uhrovetsky stated.

As reported by Ukrinform, 23 criminal proceedings related to“evaders” have been opened in Donetsk region since 2022.

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