On May 6, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv sentenced one of the “ministers” of the occupation administration in Luhansk region to 12 years in prison after finding him guilty of war crimes.

What is known about the convict

Pronko Yuriy Oleksandrovych (born April 2, 1962) is a native of the village of Baranykivka in Bilovodsk district, Luhansk region.

He headed the Bilovodsk District State Administration from 2012 until May 2014. No later than 2017, he joined the occupation authorities in the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk region, serving as the so-called “Minister of Agriculture and Food of the LPR”.

As an associate of Putin’s regime, Pronko has been under sanctions imposed by Canada since 2019, and by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan since 2022, and Switzerland since 2024.

Circumstances of the crime

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Pronko became a key figure in implementing a scheme for the large-scale seizure of assets belonging to Ukrainian agricultural enterprises in the occupied part of Luhansk region. The scheme involved the illegal takeover of property complexes, agricultural machinery, and grain stocks.

He personally organized and held meetings with representatives of the agricultural sector, including in the villages of Markivka (occupied since February 24, 2022) and Bilokurakine (occupied since March 5, 2022), where he demanded that companies re-register under the “laws of the LPR” and the tax system imposed by the occupation authorities.

At the same time, he threatened managers who refused to cooperate with imprisonment for “sabotage,” claiming that “Russia is here forever” and that there was no alternative way to conduct business.

Pronko participated in drafting and implementing illegal “resolutions of the government of the LPR” introducing temporary external administration over the assets of major Ukrainian companies, including Nibulon and Agroton.

Under these decisions, the property of Ukrainian owners was transferred to entities controlled by the occupiers, including the newly established Luhansk Agroindustrial Company and Agrosfera.

In addition, Pronko organized the theft and export of grain from the Starobilsk grain elevator to Russia.

As a result of these actions, Ukrainian companies completely lost control over their assets, including buildings, machinery, grain stocks, and fertilizers.

According to expert assessments, the total material damage exceeded UAH 6.148 billion.

The verdict

The court emphasized that the crimes were committed without any military necessity and solely for personal gain and to support the occupation regime, constituting a gross violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

Pronko was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (aiding the aggressor state), as well as Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 (violations of the laws and customs of war).

The court sentenced him to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The sentence will be counted from the moment of actual detention, as the case was heard in a special in absentia procedure.

The court also fully upheld civil claims filed by the affected companies for compensation of material damages:

• Agricultural Enterprise Nibulon LLC — UAH 1.407 billion (equivalent to USD 37.046 million);
• Agricultural Production Firm Agro PE — UAH 314.38 million;
• PJSC Agricultural Production Firm Agroton — UAH 1.414 billion.

The criminal proceeding number is 22023000000000299.