The Central District Military Court announced the verdict for three students from the Sverdlovsk region, 20-year-olds Arseny Klimin and Danila Eliseev, and 21-year-old Nikita Sukhorukov, accused of 'preparing a terrorist attack' for attempting to set fire to relay cabinets on the railway. Klimin was sentenced to 8 years in prison, Eliseev and Sukhorukov to 7 years in prison, reported a 'Mediazona' correspondent** from the courtroom. They were also given a one-year restriction of freedom each.
According to the prosecution, the three young men from June 1 to September 5, 2023, 'attempted to set fire to three relay cabinets' on the Putyovka - Lechebny section within Yekaterinburg, acting in collusion with a certain Andrey Martynov, whom the investigation considers a member of the 'Freedom of Russia' Legion.
The prosecution noted that they acted as a deliberate organized group. Arseny Klimin was named the organizer of the group. At the same time, since the beginning of 2023, he had been cooperating with the Sverdlovsk regional 'E' center to identify cases of false bomb threats and those involved. But in June, according to the prosecution, he decided to join the ranks of the 'Freedom of Russia' Legion.
In his final statement, Klimin said that on the contrary, he wanted to help the security forces because he was 'raised as a defender of the fatherland' from birth, but could not serve due to health reasons. According to him, even before the criminal case, he and his friends, who are not involved in the relay cabinet arson case, 'to the best of their abilities and knowledge, made life difficult for Ukrainian special services and various activists advocating the Zelensky terrorist regime'. He claimed that they leaked personal data of people and their 'intimate data' online, disrupted concerts where money was raised for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in some unnamed way 'harmed' Ukraine's military industry — for which they were 'almost added' to the 'Myrotvorets' database and allegedly hunted. Klimin said he decided to infiltrate the 'Freedom of Russia' Legion to 'obtain information about planned terrorist attacks' and identify 'curators' in Russia. The prosecution stated that Klimin acted 'in his own selfish interests' — he wanted to ingratiate himself with the security forces but did not inform them about his connection with the 'Freedom of Russia' Legion, nor did he receive tasks from them to infiltrate the unit.
According to the investigation, a representative of the Legion suggested Klimin set fire to relay cabinets and sent six points with geolocations. They offered to pay 8,000 rubles for each arson. Klimin was also promised that he would be accepted into their ranks after he sent a video of the burning cabinets. Klimin found Eliseev, to whom he did not disclose who exactly ordered the arsons and in the interests of which organization. But he promised from 2,000 to 5,000 rubles per cabinet, depending on how many could be set on fire. Eliseev agreed but also found another executor — Sukhorukov, who also did not clarify for what purposes the equipment needed to be set on fire.
The prosecution believes that Eliseev and Sukhorukov simply wanted to earn money but could not fail to know that the relay cabinets were being set on fire in the interests of Ukraine because 'the media writes about it', and the defendants themselves repeatedly stated during court interrogations that they 'support the SVO' and know its goals.
In addition, the prosecutor, as an aggravating circumstance, asked the court to consider that the arson attempts took place during the mobilization period, as the decree on its completion was never signed by the president.
The defendants themselves partially admitted guilt: they confirm that they prepared for the arson but disagree with the 'terrorist act' qualification.
The court considered that the guilt of the 'volunteer' of the 'E' center, who decided to cooperate with the 'Freedom of Russia' Legion, and the two students wishing to earn money from arsons, was approximately the same, and issued a real sentence with a difference of one year.
* Recognized as a 'terrorist' organization in Russia.
** Recognized as a 'foreign agent' in Russia.