The State Bureau of Investigation reported suspicion of treason against a former deputy of the Odessa City Council due to the events of May 2, 2014
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation detained and charged with treason a former deputy of the Odessa City Council, who headed the Southern District of the Coordination Council of Organizations of Russian Compatriots (CROSS). This structure took a direct part in the provocations that led to the tragic events in Odessa in May 2014.
According to the investigation, the suspect was carrying out anti-Ukrainian activities on instructions from Russia. At the end of February 2014, he received specific tasks from a curator from the Russian Federation to destabilize the situation in Odessa. Acting as part of the so-called “coordination council”, he collaborated with well-known Russian provocateurs.
In March-April 2014, the former official received information from pro-Russian figures about plans to seize the Odessa Regional Council building and instructions on supporting this action. He passed the received data on to representatives of the “coordination council” and coordinated with them information support for the planned actions. The suspect also repeatedly made public statements calling for a referendum on the autonomy of the Odessa region, spoke about the “need to protect the population of the South and South-East of Ukraine”, as well as about ending the “discrimination against the Russian language” and granting it a special status.
In April-May 2014, he repeatedly met with employees of the Russian Federation’s foreign intelligence service, received instructions from them on the “protection of Russian-speaking people” and passed these instructions on to the public organizations under his control in Ukraine.
It was the participants of the “coordination council” who became the organizers of the “Anti-Maidan” rally on Kulikovo Field in Odessa. During this action, an appeal was prepared to Vladimir Putin with a request to introduce Russian troops into Ukraine, allegedly to “protect the rights of Russian-speaking citizens.” The main goal of these events was provocative actions planned by Russian curators, which ultimately led to the tragedy of May 2, 2014.
On October 29, 2025, SBI investigators informed the former deputy of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, committed by a group of persons in advance of the conspiracy) and Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason, committed by a group of persons in advance of the conspiracy).
If his guilt is proven, the man faces from 12 to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention for the suspect. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and the procedural management is carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Law enforcement officers are not disclosing the name of the detainee, however, according to data from the Odessa newspaper Dumskaya, it is Valentin Chernov. He headed the Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots and repeatedly made public calls for a referendum on the autonomy of the Odessa region and granting the Russian language a special status.
