Soldatov Konstantin Sergeevich (Soldatov Kostyantin Sergiyovich)

In Simferopol, in annexed Crimea, at the beginning of September 2023, a local 45-year-old resident with Russian and Ukrainian citizenship, Konstantin Soldatov, was detained. He was accused of "preparing a terrorist attack by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, state treason, and attempting to illegally manufacture and store explosives. According to Russian investigators, in 2023, a man "established contact with an employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine" with the nickname Maks Povyanov, and during communication with him, Soldatov "was recruited for confidential cooperation with the aforementioned foreign special service. According to the prosecution, Soldatov agreed to carry out assignments from an employee of the GUR, taking upon himself the obligation to transport and store the means and instruments of committing the crime - a terrorist act - the explosion of railway tracks. Pyavyanov reported that he needed information about the central entrance to Sevastopol Bay, where protective boom structures and air defense points covering them are located. The 'employee' who contacted him also asked to report to him on the movements of ships and submarines carrying long-range Kalibr missiles. In addition, he was supposed to record the locations of the Kalibrs and notify about the takeoff of aircraft from Belbek Airport. On July 29, 2023, Soldatov "received an assignment from an employee of the GUR to extract an explosive substance, initiating means, and other components from a cache, store them for the purpose of further manufacturing an improvised explosive device. Soldatov also "received information about the location of a cache containing components for the manufacture of IEDs." "On the same day, Soldatov, as the prosecution claims, arrived at the location specified by the GUR employee on the territory of the Bakhchisaray district of Crimea and illegally acquired, having removed from a cache, the means and instruments of committing the planned crime, which he illegally stored until September 1, 2023" - until the moment of detention by security forces. Soldatov was sent to a pre-trial detention center for the duration of the investigation. On July 1, 2024, the Southern District Military Court found Konstantin Soldatov guilty and sentenced him to 16 years in a strict regime penal colony, with the first 3 years to be served in prison, and a fine of 500 thousand rubles. rubles. On October 8, 2024, the Appellate Military Court left the sentence in force.