Russian officers who failed to repel a Ukrainian Armed Forces missile strike received prison sentences
The first sentence has been handed down to Russian officers who failed to prevent Ukraine’s attack on Russia.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this, Kommersant writes.
“The 2nd Western District Military Court (Moscow) considered, closed to the media, a criminal case against Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Bondarev and Major Dmitry Dmitrakov. The military investigative department of the Investigative Committee for the Western Military District accused the officers of committing a crime under Part 2 of Art. 340 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the rules of combat duty to repel a surprise attack on the territory of the Russian Federation),” the publication writes.
It is noted that the judge, when passing a sentence, found the guilt of Anatoly Bondarev and Dmitry Dmitrakov proven, but did not apply to them the full extent of the sanctions laid down in Art. 340 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Referring to its sources, the newspaper writes that instead of the ten-year sentence provided for in the article in a maximum security colony, the defendants received four years each.
Since they have already served more than a year and a half of their sentence while under investigation and trial, they may soon be eligible for parole. However, they will first try to appeal the verdict, since they do not admit their guilt. This was reported by their lawyer, who refused to discuss both the details of the case itself and the events that took place behind closed court doors.
According to the publication’s source, the defendants managed not only to avoid the maximum sentence, but also additional punishment in the form of deprivation of officer ranks, and therefore, after serving their sentence or being released on parole, they may well return to the Russian armed forces.
“The attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which first became the subject of an investigation and then a trial, occurred back in April 2022. Then, from the Kharkov region of Ukraine, presumably, Tochka-U missiles struck an ammunition depot and equipment located in the area of the village of Staraya Nelidovka, Belgorod region.
As a result of the explosions and fire, 7 Russian servicemen were killed and 43 more were injured. Fifteen pieces of equipment were completely destroyed, and another three dozen were seriously damaged. The damage due to the long-term operation of the vehicles amounted to only 90 million rubles,” Kommersant clarifies.
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