Morgunov Vladimir Ivanovich

Early in November 2018, a 72-year-old resident of the village of Chertkovo, retiree Vladimir Morgunov, was detained in the Rostov region. It is claimed that during a search of his house, ten phone boxes, numerous SIM cards, as well as documents of a Cossack colonel and chief of staff of the Chertkovsky yurt of 'Revived Cossacks of Rus' were found. Morgunov was accused of treason in the form of espionage. According to the FSB, Morgunov, who held both Russian and Ukrainian passports, passed information to an employee of a foreign intelligence service during personal meetings on the Ukrainian side, which he had previously arranged by phone. Foreign intelligence was interested in the economic and socio-political situation in the border Chertkovsky district, as well as information about the deployment of military equipment and border guard forces. The court placed the defendant in the case under arrest, after which he was transferred to Moscow. 9 October 2019, the Rostov Regional Court found Vladimir Morgunov guilty and sentenced him to 12 years in a strict regime colony with a 1-year restriction of freedom. The verdict was not appealed and entered into legal force.