A military court in Moscow sentenced 5 young Russians to prolonged jail terms on terrorism charges for allegedly setting fire to a helicopter on behalf of Ukraine, authorities said Tuesday.The group was accused of being paid by Ukraines Defense Ministry intelligence firm (HUR) to ruin a Ka-32 search and rescue helicopter at Moscows Ostafyevo International Business Airport in April 2024.
HUR later on shared a video of the burning airplane, declaring the helicopter had actually been used by the Russian military.
Russias Prosecutor Generals Office approximated the damages at over 690 million rubles ($8.4 million).
Moscows Second Western Military Garrison Court convicted all 5 defendants of terrorism, with four also found guilty of conspiring to commit sabotage.
Prior to the helicopter arson, the group was also implicated of receiving 15,000 rubles ($132) to set fire to a train relay cabinet in the Moscow region.Nikita Bulgakov was sentenced to 18 years in a maximum-security prison, Daniil Yamskov to 17 years and Stanislav Khamidulin and Roman Yakovets to 12 years and six months each.
Anastasia Mochalina received 12 years and six months in a medium-security jail on terrorism charges, the district attorneys office said.According to the independent news outlet Mediazona, Mochalina is 20 years old, Yakovets is 21 and the other 3 men are 22.
District attorneys had actually looked for 19-year sentences for the four guys and 13 years for Mochalina.All 4 males pleaded guilty and asked to be charged with property damage rather of terrorism.
They declared they had actually not revealed opposition to Russias invasion of Ukraine, with Yamskov apparently asking for to be sent to eliminate in Ukraine while in pre-trial detention, Mediazona reported.Mochalina rejected involvement in the arson, saying she just permitted the group to use her bank card to make purchases and was unaware of their plans.