The Belgorod regional court passed a sentence on two men accused of preparing sabotage on the railway, along which military echelons traveled. According to TASS with reference to the regional department of the FSB, the defendants Zelenin and Turyansky were sentenced to 3.5 years in a strict regime colony.
“According to the criminal intent, such actions should have led to a derailment, damage to military and railway equipment, and casualties among military personnel,” the FSB said. According to TASS, this is the first verdict in the case initiated under the article "Sabotage" after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The verdict has already entered into force.
Zelenin and Turyansky were detained in March 2022. According to investigators, they were going to damage a section of the railway near the village of Tomarovka, Yakovlevsky district, and also sent information about Russian military personnel to the Ukrainian website Peacemaker.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian law enforcement agencies have regularly reported on the arrest of people who committed or planned to commit sabotage on the railways. In December, a law was passed toughening penalties for sabotage activities. New articles appeared in the Criminal Code: “Promotion of sabotage activities” (Article 281.1), “Training for the purpose of carrying out sabotage activities” (Article 281.2) and “Organization of a sabotage community and participation in it” (Article 281.3). These articles provide for punishment up to life imprisonment.