MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court has sentenced a 59-year-old Russian national to 13 years in prison for attempting to transfer spare parts for Mi-8 combat helicopters and Su and MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement.
"Roman Karetsky, born in 1967, was convicted of high treason for providing material and technical assistance to representatives of a Ukrainian defense enterprise in activities aimed against Russia’s security," the statement reads. "He was sentenced to 13 years in a high-security penal colony and fined one million rubles ($12,700)," the FSB added.
According to the agency, as the Ukrainian Air Force faces an urgent need for spare parts to keep its Mi-series helicopters and Su and MiG aircraft in combat-ready condition, it seeks to acquire Russian-made aviation products through Ukrainian intelligence agencies.
"Karetsky, guided by criminal intent to provide material and technical assistance to Ukraine, purchased aircraft bearings in Russia that are used in military aircraft, including Mil and Kamov civilian and military helicopters, as well as various types of Su and MiG aircraft. The perpetrator planned to transfer the items abroad in violation of existing regulations and deliver them to the Ukrainian company Motor Sich," the FSB said, adding that Motor Sich was one of the key enterprises responsible for maintaining the Ukrainian armed forces’ military aircraft and helicopters.
