Ukrainian investigators said Tuesday that a prison guard in the recently liberated city of Kherson is suspected of treason to free prisoners before the Russian army withdrew.
On November 11, the Russian army withdrew its forces from the southern city of Kherson, in a major setback in one of the regions that President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed.
Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday that an officer in charge of security at a local prison cooperated with Russian forces and allowed inmates to escape before Russia withdrew.
“The SBI arrested a traitor in Kherson prison, released prisoners before the city was liberated,” it added in a statement. “On the day when Kherson was released from captivity, the prison official pretended not to notice the escape of the prisoners and did not take any action to stop it.” The SBI added that he did not have time to escape while in custody.
The former employee is suspected of high treason and could face life in prison.
Last week, Ukraine said it detained a Russian soldier in civilian clothes in the captured town of Kherson, who pretended to be a local but later admitted he was a career soldier.
Ukrainian officials and witnesses say that Russian forces left traces of misery and destruction after the Kherson withdrawal.
On Monday, Kyiv authorities said four Russian torture sites had been discovered in the city.
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