Two Ukrainian pilots convicted by Russian "court": they allegedly planned to drop "dirty bomb" in Bryansk region
In Russia, a "court" sentenced Ukrainian pilots Oleksandr Morozov and Dmytro Shymanskyi, who were accused of planning to use a "dirty bomb" in the Bryansk region, allegedly on the instructions of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. They were sentenced to 26 and 22 years in prison.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Russian propaganda media TASS and RIA Novosti.
According to the "verdict," Morozov was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and Shymanskyi - 26 years under the article on terrorism. In total, they were found guilty of committing about ten terrorist crimes.
What is known about the case?
According to the investigation, in the spring of 2023, Morozov and Shymanskyi crossed the border with Russia in a pair of A-22 light aircraft to drop small bombs on the Slava plant in Bryansk region.
However, the pilots failed in their mission, as Morozov's plane hit a power line near the border, and Shymanskyi's landed in the Tula region. They were both detained.
It is noted that during the investigation, Shymanskyi and Morozov testified on all convicted episodes (violation of international flight and state border rules, terrorist attack, participation in a terrorist community, illegal trafficking in weapons and explosive devices), in particular, about planning to use a "dirty bomb," but later the defendants recanted their testimony and admitted only part of the episodes.
Morozov, for example, did not admit that he had participated in the bombing, saying that he was flying over the territory of Ukraine to check the work of the Ukrainian air defense system, but accidentally flew into the territory of the Russian Federation.
On June 6, 2023, the day the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam was blown up, the Russians published a video of Ukrainians claiming that they had been detained by the Russian FSB on suspicion of preparing terrorist attacks. The videos showed the light-engine airplanes in which Morozov and Shimansky allegedly flew across the Russian border to fulfill the mission.
The pilots themselves also testified on camera, in which Shymanskyi said that Ukrainian intelligence was planning to deploy a "dirty nuclear bomb" in Russia.
The video of Morozov immediately after his arrest first appeared in the Russian media 2 months before the FSB announced his detention. In the video, he said that he did not even know that he was in Russia, and that his task was only to take a photo. His plane was flying at a low altitude and then landed when it hit a power line.
The FSB also claimed that Ukraine's DIU had created a special air unit for sabotage in Russia using light aircraft.
The "verdict" of the court
The defense of the Ukrainian pilots called them prisoners of war who were carrying out orders from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The court did not fully satisfy the prosecutors' request, as the prosecution asked for 30 years in prison for the pilots.
The Kharkiv Human Rights Group said that Oleksandr Morozov is a radio engineer who learned to fly at the age of 50 at a flying school at a flying club.
Later, he bought his own light aircraft and organized a welcoming airfield near Kharkiv. In 2016, he joined the Civil Air Patrol initiative, which helped transport seriously ill patients from the most remote villages to hospitals in the regional center.
As a reminder, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that "no one created a 'dirty bomb' in Ukraine, and the only thing dirty in our region is the heads of those who seized control of the Russian state."
