In the Kherson region, law enforcement officers detained a Russian citizen linked to the illegal armed formation known as the Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan. The grouping is classified as a terrorist organization and is banned on the territory of the Russian Federation, according to reports from RIA News.
Officials stated that the detainee has been part of the battalion’s operations since December 2015, involving tasks such as coordinating militants and delivering food to the unit’s deployment area. He also publicly advocated for the forcible seizure of Crimea and its separation from Russia.
Investigators also learned that the detainee took an active role in the Crimea blockade, organizing obstructions to the delivery of food vehicles into the republic. A criminal case has been opened against him for participation in an illegal armed formation under the relevant provision of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic issued a ruling related to a detained individual who served as an instructor with the Azov battalion, another organization banned in Russia. The court sentenced him to up to twenty-five years in a maximum-security facility for his involvement in the killing of a resident of Mariupol.
A former resident of Komi was also detained on suspicions of treason and intent to engage in combat against Russia.