Arrest: He was detained by FSB officers on charges of 'espionage' for the Security Service of Ukraine. According to the investigation, in October 2022, Balitsky contacted a representative of the SSU and offered cooperation. He was allegedly tasked with installing surveillance cameras near the building of the occupying 'law enforcement agencies' to monitor the movement and location of security forces and their transport. In 2024, a video of Balitsky's interrogation appeared online, where he claims he was recruited by the SSU back in 2001 and had been in contact with a Ukrainian agent named Roman since 2019.

Sentence: The trial was held behind closed doors due to the presence of classified materials. Initially, Balitsky was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, but with additional charges of 'sabotage activities' and 'illegal possession of explosives', the term was increased to 20 years. He was also fined 50,000 rubles and given 1.5 years of restricted freedom after the main term. The first three years were to be served in prison, the rest in a high-security colony. He served his sentence in a prison in the city of Yeniseisk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. In August 2025, Yaroslav Balitsky returned to Ukraine as part of an exchange.

Yaroslav Balitsky is a resident of Crimea, born in the Zhytomyr region in 1978. He lived in Yevpatoria or Sevastopol. The occupying authorities persecuted him repeatedly. According to Balitsky after his release, the detention conditions were relatively tolerable compared to the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war: 'As a civilian with Crimean documents, they were more restrained.'

After returning to Ukraine-controlled territory in August 2025, Balitsky underwent medical and rehabilitation recovery. In a comment to journalists from Suspilne Crimea, he confirmed that he felt physically well and expressed gratitude to everyone who supported him and his family during his imprisonment. Balitsky's case is part of a large-scale persecution of pro-Ukrainian residents of Crimea, which sharply intensified after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Information used from open sources: Suspilne Crimea, Malyn Media, Voice of Crimea.

Photo: Suspilne Crimea.

Updated: 03.07.2026.