BLAGOVESHCHENSK. Oct 2 (Interfax) - The Second Eastern District Military Court in Chita has given long sentences to members of a criminal group convicted of sabotaging facilities of Russian Railways (RZD) and transformer substations and of conspiring to destroy fighter jets in Primorye, the court's press service said.
"From December 2022 to January 2023, the criminal group members committed 13 acts of sabotage on strategic transport facilities, vehicles and public utilities in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk Territory," the court said.
They sabotaged an RZD locomotive and power supply cabinets designed for the safe and uninterrupted regulation of train traffic and for preventing collisions of passenger and freight trains. They also targeted transformer substations supplying power to residential areas and social facilities.
The court and investigators found that the defendants conspired to commit a terror attack by setting fire to multirole fighter jets of a military unit stationed in Primorye Territory.
The 12-member criminal group was set up to undermine Russia's economic security and defense capabilities.
The court sentenced four group members to between 19 and 23 years in jail. The sentences of the others ranged from 8.5 to 16 years, while an abettor was sentenced to four years. Civil law suits were partially met.
The sentence has yet to take effect.