Pushkin fan accused of aiding Russian strikes says maps were just ...

KYIV — It sounds like a story out of a surrealist Russian novel — but according to Ukrainian prosecutors, the danger was very real indeed. 

They allege that Oleksandr Kostornyy, the 72-year-old head of the “Aleksandr Pushkin’s Russian Society” NGO, provided Russia a map with the locations of Ukrainian servicemen ahead of a deadly missile strike last year. 

His defense: He was just showing a friend where to pick mushrooms. 

In videos from courtroom appearances, Kostornyy — who stands accused of treason — can be seen wearing a beige jacket over a black turtleneck, with a mustache and regal bearing right out of Tolstoy. 

Prosecutors claim that on March 4, 2022, Kostornyy sent a person in Russia-occupied Crimea a map showing the location of the International Peacekeeping and Security Center — a facility used to train and house Ukrainian forces and foreign volunteers near Lviv.  

Nine days later, Russians shelled the site, also known as the Yavoriv training ground. The strike hit the barracks where the soldiers were sleeping, killing 61 people and injuring another 160. On the map, Kostornyy allegedly marked the coordinates of Ukrainian servicemen and equipment for potential Russian strikes. 

Kostorny, who has been behind bars for nearly a year, denies the accusations. While he admits he sent a map to his friend, he said it was a chart of a hunting and fishing ground located nearby the training center.  

“My friend asked me to show him where I pick mushrooms. That’s all,” he said during one court session.  His next appearance is planned for mid-May. 

During the trial, Kostornyy confirmed he used to be a KGB agent but said he had not worked with the secret services since the fall of the Soviet Union. Prosecutors say he promoted pro-Russian ideology in Ukraine.  

The friend he sent the map to is Oleksandr Svystunov, the founder of pro-Russian organizations in Ukraine, who received Russian citizenship and currently lives in annexed Crimea, according to the Ukrainian news website Sudovyi Reporter.