Ukrainian border guard from Volyn Oblast convicted of treason asks to be handed over to Russia – document

Ihor Kadayev, a 40-year-old former head of a border detachment unit in Volyn Oblast, convicted of treason and collaborating with Russian intelligence services, has requested to be handed over to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange. Source: Suspilne media; website of the state project Hochu k Svoim (I Want to Go Home), a Ukrainian state-run project aimed at swapping convicted collaborators for Ukrainians held in Russian captivity Details: In October 2024, Kadayev was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In November, he sent a letter to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, asking to be transferred to Russia or Russian-occupied territories.

The former border detachment head was detained in June 2024. The investigation revealed that he gathered information about Ukraine's defence forces along the northern borders of Volyn Oblast, identified fortified positions and estimated the number of Ukrainian troops guarding the border with Belarus. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) established that Kadayev's "handler" was Russian Federal Security Service officer Aleksei Dobrytskyi, stationed in temporarily occupied Luhansk.

Investigators believe the Ukrainian border guard was recruited while serving in eastern Ukraine. In exchange for cooperation, he was promised "evacuation" to Russian territory and employment within Russian occupation forces.

For reference: Hochu k Svoim (I Want to Go Home) is a project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, supported by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. It is a public list of people convicted of treason and collaboration who wish to go to Russia under the condition that Ukrainians are released from Russian captivity.

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