From patriot to traitor How a Ukrainian betrayed his homeland to Putin - and is serving a life sentence
His past and convictions made him the perfect target for Russia's espionage: a Ukrainian betrayed military secrets to the Kremlin. Today he is in prison for life.
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- A Ukrainian citizen spied for Russia and provided information on military targets.
- The security services convicted him with the help of witness statements and intercepted conversations.
- Now he is hoping for a prisoner swap to escape life imprisonment.
In a police building in Zaporizhia sits a man who once believed in the idea of the "Russian world", but is now condemned as a traitor. The 52-year-old Oleh Kolesnikov was sentenced to life imprisonment for passing on information about military targets to Russia.
Reuters met him in April, before the verdict was handed down, and gained insight into the motivations and actions of a man who described himself as a patriot but worked against his own country.
Kolesnikov, a former land manager, grew up in the Soviet era and felt culturally and historically connected to Russia. Russian agents used this closeness to recruit him for espionage. "I didn't do it for money, but out of conviction," he said.
But the reality of the war disappointed him: instead of a quick victory, he experienced destruction and death. The civilian victims of the rocket attacks, to which his information contributed, weighed particularly heavily on him.
How conviction turned into betrayal
In September 2022, Kolesnikov provided coordinates for a meeting of local officials at the Sunrise Hotel in Zaporizhia. The attack on the building killed one civilian and injured several others. He collected such information regularly - often by observing the sites of Russian missile strikes.
But his behavior did not go undetected. Security forces identified his car at several sites of attacks and intercepted conversations in his vehicle in which he was plotting with an accomplice.
His accomplice, Vitaly Kusakin, a chauffeur who also gathered information, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. For Kolesnikov himself, the judges decided that his actions deliberately and purposefully helped Russian agents.
A life behind bars - with one hope
The Kolesnikov case is one of over 3,200 treason cases opened in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, writes Reuters. The Ukrainian security services (SBU) are intensifying their efforts to expose Russian agents and dismantle spy networks. According to Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU, this is crucial for Ukraine's victory.
There is only one hope left for Kolesnikov: he wants to be released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. "I would like to be exchanged," he said resignedly. "But that's not in my hands."
