A Zaporizhzhia court has sentenced Oleksandr Saulenko, head of the illegal Russian occupation administration in the town of Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in absentia to 15 years in jail with the confiscation of property, Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said on March 19.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Saulenko joined the pro-Russian Union of Left Forces party, which has never been represented in Ukraine's parliament. The party was banned by a court on June 17, 2022.
Saulenko led the looting of Ukrainian grain alongside Yeven Balytsky, a former lawmaker from Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to the Security Service of Ukraine.
On March 14, a court in Zaporizhzhia sentenced Mykola Pastushenko, head of the illegal occupation administration in the town of Dniprorudne, in absentia to 10 years in prison with the confiscation of property.
