Russia-Ukraine conflict: Kyiv investigates individuals suspected of collaborating with Moscow

Just as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with rockets and mines, Kyiv has also sought to investigate people in their own camp who are suspected of being in league with Moscow. Ukraine is investigating nearly 500 people who are suspected of being allied with Russia as the war goes into its fourth month.

Ukrainian prosecutors said back in June that around 480 Ukrainians from the areas of Kherson to Kharkiv in the northeast are being investigated as the individuals are suspected of collaborating with Russia.

Prosecutors said the turncoats played big roles in the surrender of Ukrainian cities, towns, and districts, as well as out pro-Kyiv activists and informing Russians of the location of Ukrainian troops, arms depots, and minefields, even coordinating the Russian artillery fire.

A political commentator told Al Jazeera that there is enough information about the collaborators to identify their key attributes.

“A collaborator’s set: A mandatory government job in the past, local connections, interests in local businesses, beef with the government,” said Ukraine-based analyst Aleksey Kushch. “A pro-Russian stance or games in this political field, criminal connections, love for money and power that hasn’t been satisfied in the existing system of coordinates.”

The majority of those who collaborated with Moscow were members of pro-Russia parties that were disbanded or outlawed during the ongoing conflict. Most of them came from the largest pro-Kremlin political faction, the Party of Regions, with its leader, President Viktor Yanukovych fleeing to Russia in 2014 after protests in Ukraine.

Some collaborators were also revealed to be coming from within the side of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, such as Kherson agriculture official Aleksey Kovalyev.

Meanwhile, Kyiv has summoned Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine over the issue of Ottawa’s return of a turbine to Germany for repairs on the Nordstream 1 gas pipeline, in protest of Canada’s move to do so.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelenskyy criticized the move, describing the return as “absolutely unacceptable” breach of sanctions that were imposed on Russia and warned that this would be seen by the Kremlin as the “manifestation of weakness.”

Ukrainian advocacy groups in Canada have also criticized the return of the turbine.