Kharkiv resident who prepared bombing of main gas pipeline on Russia’s orders sentenced to 15 years in prison
The Nova Vodolaha District Court of Kharkiv region has delivered a guilty verdict against a 54-year-old resident of the regional center who, acting on instructions from a Russian intelligence operative, manufactured an explosive device for the bombing of a main gas pipeline.
“During the court hearing, the accused fully admitted guilt, sincerely repented, and actively assisted in solving the crime… The Nova Vodolaha District Court of Kharkiv region sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property,” the press service of the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office reports.
According to the investigation, the accused established contact via Telegram with an intelligence officer from the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU), who was located in temporarily occupied Donetsk. Since autumn of last year, the man had been collecting and providing him with intelligence data. He also agreed to assist in blowing up a main gas pipeline in Kharkiv region.
At the same time, the accused began communicating with an employee of a temporary joint operational group of the Russian Interior Ministry, FSB, and the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, providing him with information on the deployment locations of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and checkpoints in settlements across the district.
The GRU operative provided the Kharkiv resident with detailed instructions for manufacturing an improvised explosive device (IED), which he was supposed to plant near a key section of gas lines. The accused purchased all necessary components for the IED and set up an underground workshop in a shed belonging to his parents in Berestyn district of the region. There he assembled a bomb with a detonator and hid it in the attic of the house. He failed to complete the crime. In early October, the man was detained by law enforcement officers. During a search, they seized the assembled improvised explosive device, as well as a smartphone containing evidence of cooperation with Russian intelligence operatives.
The court found the accused guilty of high treason (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine); illegal manufacture of explosives and explosive devices (Part 1 of Article 263-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine); possession of explosive devices without a permit (Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine); and preparation for committing a terrorist act, including procuring tools and means for committing a terrorist act by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 1 of Article 14, Part 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
