The 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced Ukrainian and Russian citizens to long terms, accused of plotting to kill a senior military officer, reported the FSB Public Relations Center, calling them «agents of Ukrainian special services».
Oleh Zabolotnyi*, a native of Kharkiv region, was found guilty of «espionage», «attempted terrorism», undergoing «training for terrorist purposes», as well as illegal manufacturing and storage of explosive devices. In addition to the prison term, he was fined one million rubles.
Maksim Volga*, from St. Petersburg, was convicted on charges of «treason», «attempted terrorism», and illegal storage and transportation of explosives. The fine imposed on the Russian was 900 thousand rubles.
The Ukrainian was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment, and the Russian to 19 years. The first four years both men will spend in prison, and the remaining term in a high-security colony.
According to the investigation, both defendants were recruited by Ukrainian special services. In 2022, Zabolotnyi, while in the Kharkiv region, «underwent sabotage and reconnaissance training». Later he moved to Russia. In May 2023, the man began transmitting information about military facilities and servicemen of the «Baltimore» airfield in Voronezh to Ukrainian special services using the messengers Telegram and Signal.
Volga lived in the Smolensk region and, according to the FSB, began cooperating with Ukrainian special services in January 2023. In August of the same year, the Russian, on the orders of a «curator», retrieved from a cache and delivered to Voronezh «firearms with ammunition, more than 10 kg of explosives, and electric detonators intended for Zabolotnyi».
The Ukrainian made a «homemade explosive device, which he planned to plant in the entrance of a residential building to kill a senior military officer». In August 2023, when the man was heading to the military officer's house, he was detained by FSB officers. Volga was detained by security forces after transferring weapons from the cache.
As noted by «Mediazona»**, in December of the same year, both defendants were added to the list of «extremists and terrorists» by Rosfinmonitoring.
* Included in the list of «extremists and terrorists».
** Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».