Russian court sentences actor to 17 years in prison for railway sabotage

Russian court sentences actor to 17 years in prison for railway sabotage

(Reuters) -A military court in Moscow sentenced a Russian man to 17 years in prison after finding him guilty of attempting to blow up a railway on behalf of a pro-Ukraine Russian paramilitary group, the TASS state news agency reported on Thursday.

The defendant, Viktor Mosienko, who is a film and theatre actor, admitted guilt and repented in court, according to TASS. Russian news outlet Gazeta.ru reported that Mosienko had cited a desire to help Ukrainian children as a motive.

Russian officials have linked pro-Ukraine sabotage groups with numerous attacks on aircraft and railways aimed at disrupting Moscow's war effort since the full-scale conflict began over three years ago.

Prosecutions of those suspected of terrorism and sabotage in Russia have jumped, with 40% more terrorism cases sent to court in 2024 than the year before, or 429 in total, according to an Investigative Committee official cited by TASS.

Investigators found that Mosienko, who is 63, had early in 2024 fallen in with the Freedom for Russia Legion, a group of Russians opposed to President Vladimir Putin who are fighting for Ukraine.

Reuters was not able to contact the group, which Russia considers a terrorist organisation.

Prosecutors said Mosienko had travelled from his home in southern Russia to the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, where authorities arrested him as he attempted to lay an improvised explosive device (IED) under a railway bridge.

TASS reported, citing the indictment, that Mosienko had arrived to the site by taxi, dressed in a railway worker's vest and carrying a bunch of red balloons and a box of sweets, inside of which were six kilograms of explosives and a detonator.

Reuters was not able to contact a lawyer for Mosienko.

(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Bernadette Baum)