A military court in Siberia has sentenced two teenagers to several years in prison each after they were found guilty of setting fire to a military transportation helicopter on orders from Ukrainian intelligence services.
The two teenagers, who were not identified by name, were arrested in September 2024 after they set fire to an Mi-8 helicopter at a military airfield outside the city of Omsk, located around 2,250 kilometers (1,400 miles) east of Moscow. They were 16 years old at the time.
On Wednesday, a judge from the Second Eastern District Military Court found both guilty of conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack. One was sentenced to seven years in prison, while the other received a 7.5-year sentence.
The teenagers were also ordered to pay Russia’s Defense Ministry 668 million rubles ($7.2 million) in damages.
According to investigators, Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency promised them $20,000 to set fire to the helicopter and send a video proving they carried out the attack.
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