Ukrainian tractor driver sentenced to 10 years for “espionage” in St. Petersburg

Questions surround the case of a Ukrainian man convicted of espionage in Russia, as details of his detention remain unclear.

Aug 21, 2024 - 07:13

Ukrainian tractor driver sentenced to 10 years for “espionage” in St. Petersburg

A court in St. Petersburg sentenced Ukrainian citizen Viktor Rudenko to 10 years in a strict regime colony for espionage, reports the head of the press service of St. Petersburg courts, Daria Lebedeva, via her Telegram channel.

According to Lebedeva, Rudenko was found guilty of “collecting and sending information to the Ukrainian Armed Forces that does not constitute a state secret, but could harm Russia’s security.”

The court determined that Rudenko, a tractor driver from Kharkiv, gathered this information in March 2022 while still in Ukraine. With the help of the information Rudenko transmitted, “a Russian motorized rifle brigade came under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the locality mentioned,” the verdict states.

Rudenko confirmed transmitting the information but did not plead guilty, stating he “acted in the interests of his homeland.”

The case was not publicly known before the trial. It remains unclear how Rudenko ended up in Russia or when he was detained.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the FSB regularly detained Ukrainian citizens and ethnic Ukrainians in Russian cities, accusing them of sabotaging or aiding Kyiv.

In April, a Moscow court sentenced a Ukrainian citizen to 25 years for alleged railway sabotage. The defendant’s chosen attorney was barred from the trial, so he was represented by a state-appointed lawyer.

Russia also routinely tries to get Ukrainians abducted from occupied territories for espionage. In early August, a resident of Zaporizhzhia Oblast who had assisted the Ukrainian army was convicted in St. Petersburg.

Read also:

You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this. We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!