"This was stupid": Mykolaiv resident Shatun leaked information about air defenses in the Korabelnyi District to the Russians and received a 15-year prison sentence

He passed information about Ukrainian defenders to the enemy, asked that the messages not be published, and explained it all in court as his own stupidity

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10 Nov 2026

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While Ukrainian troops were defending the skies over Mykolaiv from Russian drones, one local resident was watching their work for a very different reason. He relayed what he saw to someone collecting information for the aggressor state. No spy equipment—just an ordinary smartphone; no secret meetings—just Telegram messages. He even asked the other person not to publish the information he had sent.

The story ended in the Korabelnyi District Court of Mykolaiv, where, on August 12, 2026, local resident Volodymyr Yuriiovych Shatun was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of all his property.

The details are set out in the court ruling in case No. 488/2982/26.

An ordinary Mykolaiv resident with extraordinary contacts

Volodymyr Shatun was born in Mykolaiv, had a vocational secondary education, and worked informally. He was unmarried, had no children, and had no prior convictions. At first glance, an ordinary biography.

However, the court found that he was in contact with the administrator of a pro-Russian Telegram channel used to collect information about Ukrainian troops, defense facilities, and the operational situation in Mykolaiv Oblast.

The channel’s administrators openly supported Russian aggression, praised the so-called Mykolaiv underground, and urged their followers to report on the activities of the Defense Forces. Subscribers were even given advice on how to conceal their correspondence and avoid detection by law enforcement.

According to the court, Shatun did not merely read pro-Russian posts—he personally passed on information about Ukrainian defenders.

As drones flew over the city, he reported on air defense operations

On November 30, 2025, at 11:18 a.m., using his Samsung Galaxy A04e smartphone, the man sent the administrator of a pro-Russian channel a message about air defense operations in the Korabelnyi District.

He described what he had heard and observed during an air attack. The other person responded with a handshake emoji.

It might have seemed like an ordinary message in a messenger app. But even observations like these can be valuable to the enemy.

During the investigation, military command confirmed that the information concerned actual units of the National Guard of Ukraine carrying out air defense missions in Mykolaiv. The information had not been made public by the Ukrainian military or any other authorized body.

And that was not the end of it.

On January 26, 2026, at 6:08 p.m., the man contacted the same person again. This time, he described the movement of Ukrainian military vehicles he had observed on January 23 in the Korabelnyi District.

The Mykolaiv resident told him about military vehicles and equipment, speculated about their purpose, and provided other details about the movement of servicemembers.

The end of the message was particularly telling. Wrapping up his description, the man asked:

“If possible, do NOT publish this”

He wanted the information he had passed on to stay between them. But the correspondence was already on Ukrainian counterintelligence’s radar.

Investigators established that the information concerned the movement of a mobile fire support group of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Pro-Russian underground networks and deleted messages

During the investigation, the Security Service of Ukraine examined the Telegram channel whose administrator the defendant had contacted.

As far back as August 6, 2022, the channel had praised the so-called Mykolaiv underground. The author of the post claimed that its supporters were collecting information about Ukrainian servicemembers, military equipment, and defense facilities. Other posts offered advice on maintaining secrecy and concealing digital traces.

The court also examined the June 4, 2024 ruling by the Uzhhorod City and District Court concerning a person whom investigators linked to this pro-Russian platform. That person had already been convicted of treason, including for collecting defense-related information in Russia’s interests.

On February 12, 2026, Security Service of Ukraine officers searched Volodymyr Shatun’s home and seized two smartphones—a Samsung Galaxy A04e and a Huawei P Smart Z.

The phones contained Telegram accounts, traces of communication with the administrator of the pro-Russian channel, and information about the defendant’s activity in related communities. One of them was the “Lyudolovy Mykolaev” channel.

Investigators paid particular attention to a Telegram archive. It contained a chat set to automatically delete messages after three days.

Experts established that the correspondence had been cleared at 11:18 a.m. on November 30, 2025. Not all deleted data could be recovered, but law enforcement had previously documented the contents of key messages during covert investigative actions.

These materials, together with screenshots, examinations of the phones, expert reports, and information from military command, became evidence in court.

“It was stupid”: what the defendant said

In court, Volodymyr Shatun did not deny sending the messages. However, he insisted that he had not intended to harm the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

He said that he had begun communicating with the channel’s administrator in 2024 or 2025. He supposedly believed the other person was a Ukrainian citizen who had once been connected with Mykolaiv.

The man claimed that their conversations were mostly about politics, that he had not deliberately collected information about Ukrainian troops, and that he had not known the other person was involved in Russian subversive activities.

The defendant explained his actions as stupidity.

He asked the court for the most lenient sentence possible, citing remorse and alleged assistance to law enforcement.

But the court was not convinced by the sincerity of these explanations.

The panel noted that the man admitted passing on information but effectively denied his guilt of treason. The judges also took into account the nature of the pro-Russian posts, the contents of the correspondence, and the use of concealment measures.

Nor did the court accept his claim that he had voluntarily handed over his phones to the Security Service of Ukraine: in fact, the devices were seized during a search, after the man had already been exposed.

The court emphasized that his unlawful activity had ended not on his own initiative, but as a result of law enforcement intervention.

Assessing the danger posed by his actions, the panel of judges stated:

“his unlawful actions pose an increased threat to society, both to the citizens of Ukraine and to the State of Ukraine”

The court concluded that the defendant could be rehabilitated only in isolation from society.

The price of messaging the Russians: 15 years behind bars

On August 12, 2026, the Korabelnyi District Court of Mykolaiv found Volodymyr Yuriiovych Shatun guilty under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—treason committed under martial law.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of all his property.

In addition, the convicted man must reimburse the state 7,701 hryvnias and 76 kopiykas for expert examination costs. The seized smartphones remain under arrest to enforce the confiscation order.

Time spent in custody since February 12, 2026 will count toward his sentence on a day-for-day basis.

The verdict was appealed: the relevant proceedings were registered with the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal on September 15, 2026. Based on the information reviewed, the appellate court’s final decision has not yet been established.

This story involves no elaborate spy schemes or secret documents. Just an ordinary phone, Telegram, and a man who chose to tell the enemy about Ukrainian troops.

And the most troubling thing is that you do not need access to military headquarters to commit this kind of treason. Sometimes all it takes is passing on your own observations of those defending the city to the Russians.