Rada Introduces Punishment Of 12 Years In Prison For Aiding Aggressor State With President’s Proposals

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted a bill introducing criminal liability of up to 12 years in prison for aiding the aggressor state with the proposals of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

357 parliamentarians voted for the adoption of Bill No. 7186 with the proposals of the President taken into account, with a minimum of 226, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

Art. 111-2 (aiding the aggressor state) of the Criminal Code states that deliberate actions aimed at helping the aggressor state (complicity), its armed formations and/or the occupation administration of the aggressor state, committed by a citizen of Ukraine, a foreigner or stateless person, with the exception of citizens of the aggressor state, in order to harm Ukraine, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of 10 to 12 years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of 10 to 15 years and with or without confiscation of property.

Such actions include:

• implementation or support of decisions and/or actions of the aggressor state, armed formations and/or occupation administration of the aggressor state;
• any cooperation, including the collection, preparation and/or transfer of material resources or other assets to the representatives of the aggressor state, its armed formations and/or the occupation administration of the aggressor state;

Among the changes with the amendments to the President taken into account was the exclusion from the list of actions considered aimed at helping the aggressor country, the paragraph "other voluntary interaction with representatives of the aggressor state, illegal authorities created in the temporarily occupied territory, including the occupation administration of the aggressor state."

In his proposal, the President explained that this paragraph did not contain a clear definition of the content and nature of actions/inaction, meaning "other voluntary interaction," which could be qualified as compliance with the aggressor state.

"These provisions of the law do not allow us to determine with sufficient clarity which actions are illegal, and this can lead to arbitrary interpretation and unequal application of the law in practice," it was said in the text of the President's proposals.

In addition, in criminal proceedings for crimes provided for in Art. 111-2, a special pre-trial investigation may be carried out on the basis of the determination of the investigating judge.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Rada introduced criminal liability up to 12 years in prison for aiding the aggressor state, but on April 6 Zelenskyy voted it down and sent a text with his proposals.

To request a correction, please send an email.