Irina Gorobtsova

A resident of Kherson, Gorobtsova worked as a tester. After the beginning of the Russian occupation, she did a volunteer work to deliver medicine, food and other necessities by car, as well as to help medical staff reach the hospitals. She participated in Kherson's residents' protests against the occupation, wrote Facebook posts in support of the Ukrainian military and published information about raising funds both for civilian and military efforts.

On May 13th, 2022, according to her relatives, Gorobtsova was taken from her home by armed men in military uniforms and masks. In June 2022, her father received a response from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) stating that "the person concerned had resisted a special military operation ("SVO")", so "a decision regarding her" would be made "after the completion of the SVO".

It was later revealed that Gorobtsova was taken to the Crimea. In October 2022 lawyer Emil Kurbedinov told "Graty", an independent Ukrainian media, that the Interior Ministry informed him that Gorobtsova had been in the pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Simferopol since at least the end of May. However, the staff of the center refused to let him meet with his client, claiming that she was not held there. As of October 2022, she has not been formally charged with any crime.

It was later reported that Gorobtsova had been accused of espionage. According to the investigation, she collected strategically important data on units of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of the Kherson region and passed it to an officer of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate. On August 15th, 2024, Gorobtsova was sentenced to 10 and a half years in a general regime colony.

In February 2025, Gorobtsova's father reported that she had been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.

You can read more about politically persecuted people in the Telegram channel OVD-Info LIVE and our politically motivated criminal prosecutions in Russia database