Chilling escalation as Russia brings 'treason' charges against Crimean activist for pro-Ukrainian graffiti

A cassation chamber of Russia’s Supreme Court has verturned an already shocking sentence of over five years against Ksenia Svietlishyna for pro-Ukrainian graffiti in occupied Crimea and sent the case back for re-trial.  The 39-year-old Ukrainian woman is now facing ‘treason’ charges and a potential 20-year sentence. 

News of the escalation only emerged on 21 July 2025, as the cassation hearing on 8 July had been held behind closed doors.  Crimean Process learned of the outcome unofficially from two sources, and states that the cassation appeal wea heard by a panel of judges, including the former head of the Russian council of judges, Aleksandr Chervotkin.

According to Crimean Process, the charges against Svietlishyna were over her involvement in the ‘Yellow Ribbon’ peaceful resistance movement.  This is a grassroots initiative, whose activism largely concentrates on reminding Crimeans and the Russian occupation regime that Crimea is Ukrainian territory and affirming Ukrainian identity.

Svietlishyna (b. 28,04,1986) has been in custody since December 2023.  During the ‘trial’ on 3 September 2024, she was charged under Article 275.1 of Russia’s criminal code (cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization) and with Article 214 § 2 (‘vandalism motivated by political; ideological; racial; national or religious hatred or enmity; or motivated by hatred or enmity towards a social group’).  It is, in fact, probable that the graffiti used as pretext for the second charge was simply pro-Ukrainian. Svietlishyna herself said this in the videoed ‘confession’ she was, doubtless, forced to give. 

It was claimed that from April to November 2023 Svietlishyna had gathered information about the movements of military ships and aviation, as well as about places of deployment of Russian armed forces in Sevastopol and had passed these to “a representative of Ukraine via Messenger”.  She was also accused of having used a marker pen to write messages “expressing animosity to the RF” on street benches and other public objects.   The sentence was passed on 3 September 2024 by ‘judge’ Igor Vladimirovich Kozhevnikov from the occupation ‘Sevastopol municipal court’.  Svietlishyna was sentenced to five years and three months in a medium-security prison colony, to be followed by a year’s ‘restricted liberty’.

As is all too often the case, news of the sentence coincided with the posting of Svietlishyna’s videoed ‘confession and apology’ on notorious collaborator Aleksandr Talipov’s Crimean SMERSH Telegram page.  Talipov and his Crimean SMERSH vigilantes, who hunt down people with a pro-Ukrainian position and force them to ‘repent’ on video.  Although they are claimed to be a civic organization, Talipov and Crimean SMERSH work in close collaboration with the occupation enforcement bodies, meaning that, even where physical force is not applied to force out such ‘confessions’, the victims can be threatened with serious criminal charges and huge sentences if they refuse to ‘repent’.. 

It is clear from the video Talipov posted that Svietlishyna was admitting solely to having left pro-Ukrainian graffiti.   Talipov essentially acknowledges that the Ukrainian was hounded by them for supporting Ukraine, but claims that, later, while searching her phone, the ‘enforcement bodies’ found, what he asserts to be, “correspondence with the SBU” [Ukraine’s Security Service].  That there was obvious communication with the SBU or other bodies seems unlikely given the initial and lesser charge under Article 205.1 (‘cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization’(. 

Russia has long used virtually copy-pasted charges of gathering information like that in the indictment here and passing it on to Ukraine’s SBU or Military Intelligence.  Those Ukrainians targeted are accused of ‘treason’, under Article 275, if they have (been forced into taking) Russian citizenship, and Article 276 if they have only Ukrainian citizenship.  Had there been any real evidence of anything but pro-Ukrainian graffiti, it seems likely that the more serious charges would have been laid immediately.  Russia may, of course, have not wanted to be seen to be openly bringing treason against a Ukrainian activist, whose Yellow Ribbon messages were merely aimed at affirming Crimea and Crimeans’ Ukrainian identity. 

That is, however, what is now happening, with the new ‘trial’ most unlikely to not end in a conviction and horrific sentence on ‘treason’ charges.

Crimean Process writes that this is not the first occasion where ‘judges’ have decided that the lesser Article 275.1 charge is not enough, and have demanded that the charge be changed to ‘state treason’ under Article 275.  It is, however, the first such case where this has happened, not at appeal level, but at cassation.

At least one other Ukrainian from occupied Crimea is currently imprisoned for having taken part in Yellow Ribbon activities in support of Ukraine (details about Mykola Onuk here).