A Russian appeal court in St. Petersburg has upheld an 18 year prison sentence for a man from the Chelyabinsk region convicted of high treason and carrying out sabotage on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence.
The Second Court of Appeal confirmed the original verdict handed down by the Chelyabinsk Regional Court, according to the regional branch of Russia's Federal Security Service. The security agency provided the case details to the Lenta news outlet.
Under the final ruling, the unnamed local resident will serve his sentence in a penal colony and must pay a fine of 694,000 rubles.
Chelyabinsk is a heavily industrialised region located in the Ural Mountains. The Federal Security Service is Russia's primary domestic security, internal intelligence and counterintelligence agency.
Explosives training
The investigation established that the convicted man agreed to work secretly with a Ukrainian intelligence representative in September 2024. Under the guidance of this handler, the man received training in covert operations and learned how to manufacture incendiary devices.
Acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence, the man subsequently carried out sabotage operations against a transport infrastructure facility in the region during September and October 2024. Transport networks across Russia have been subject to heightened security measures due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a major conflict since the Russian invasion, an offensive that Moscow officially terms a special military operation. Both nations regularly report arresting intelligence agents and saboteurs attempting to disrupt railway lines, military infrastructure and logistical supply networks.
Separate Taganrog plot
The sentencing in St. Petersburg follows separate reports regarding an 18 year old Ukrainian intelligence agent from Taganrog, a port city in southwestern Russia situated on the Sea of Azov.
Authorities stated that the teenager had planned to join the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Officials said the young man intended to deploy to the front lines with the specific objective of killing his fellow Russian soldiers.
