The Central District Military Court sentenced a 35-year-old resident of Udmurtia to 18 years in prison in a case of preparing to blow up the head of a defense enterprise in Izhevsk, TASS reported, citing the FSB press service. According to the verdict, he will spend the first four years in prison, the remaining time — in a strict regime colony. In addition, the court fined him 200 thousand rubles.
According to the FSB, the man planned an assassination attempt on the head of "one of the defense-industrial complex enterprises located in the region". It is alleged that after the explosion he intended to "leave through third countries to the territory of Ukraine to participate in hostilities against the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation". In a video during his arrest, he says he sent an application to the "Freedom of Russia" legion** and joined this unit.
The young man was detained in November 2023 in Izhevsk. The security forces found "components for making an improvised explosive device" and a phone "containing correspondence with Ukrainian militants". Almost immediately after his arrest, he was added to the list of "extremists and terrorists" by Rosfinmonitoring.
As "Mediazona"* found out, the only resident of Udmurtia born in 1990 included in this list is named Pavel Lekomtsev. According to leaked databases, he worked as an operator for oil and gas production at the company "Udmurtneft".
As reported by ASTRA citing an unnamed source, the case against Lekomtsev is related to the preparation of an assassination attempt on Alexander Zakharov — the head of the Izhevsk company Zala Aero, which produces Lancet kamikaze drones for the Russian army. In December 2023, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions against Zakharov and his family.
* Recognized as "foreign agents" in Russia.
** Recognized as a "terrorist organization" in Russia.