Arrest: On August 13, 2016, at 11:30, FSB officers detained Volodymyr Prysych, a truck driver from Kharkiv, in Sevastopol, where he arrived in a cargo vehicle via the Kerch ferry crossing. During the arrest, the vehicle was thoroughly inspected, and no drugs were found. Prysych's personal belongings were confiscated, and the truck keys were taken. The vehicle was left in the parking lot of the 'Musson' shopping center without security or sealing. Nine hours later, at 21:15, the FSB conducted a 'vehicle inspection' and 'found' 500 grams of cannabis in the cabin. Prysych was then taken to Simferopol. The defense believes the drugs were planted between the two inspections, which is why FSB investigator Ihor Ihorovych Tyshyn is listed in the human rights violators database as responsible.

Sentence: On August 14, 2016, during interrogation as a suspect, Prysych signed a 'confession' typed by the investigator under moral and physical pressure from FSB operatives and the appointed lawyer Petrosyan. Prysych also stated he was forced to record a video confession of 'espionage for Ukraine' after being tortured with electric shocks. On May 18, 2017, the Russian-controlled 'Gagarinsky District Court' in Sevastopol sentenced Prysych to 3 years in a general regime colony under Part 2 of Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code (drug possession). An appeal hearing was scheduled for August 3, 2017. Prysych served his sentence, and the case was closed on August 15, 2019.

Volodymyr Serhiyovych Prysych was born on May 30, 1983. A resident of Kharkiv, he is a professional truck driver. He traveled to Crimea for work purposes, arriving in a cargo vehicle via the Kerch ferry. Immediately after his initial detention, his family was informed. However, he retracted the 'espionage testimony' recorded by the FSB and broadcast on 'Russia-1' once his relatives contracted independent lawyers.

Prysych's case is part of a broader wave of arrests from August to November 2016, known as the 'Ukrainian saboteurs case.' Other figures involved include Yevhen Panov, Andriy Zakhtei, Oleksiy Bessarabov, Dmytro Shtyblikov, Vladyslav Dudka, Hlib Shablii, Oleksiy Stohnii, and Redvan Suleimanov. The FSB claimed they were members of a 'sabotage-terrorist group of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.' Lawyer Petrosyan, appointed by the FSB to defend Prysych, had previously appeared in a similar role in the case of Dmytro Shtyblikov.

Information sourced from open sources: Crimean Human Rights Group, UNIAN, Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

Photo: UNIAN.

Update date: 03.07.2026.