Two residents of St. Petersburg were arrested in the case of sabotage on the railway

The Seaside District Court of St. Petersburg arrested two residents of the city – Vasiliy Ivanov and Sergey Saratovtsev – in the case of sabotage.

According to the investigation, Saratovtsev agreed to set fire to the railway relay box for 8 thousand rubles. A stranger offered him money on the Internet.

Saratovtsev involved Ivanov in the case and gave him the stranger’s instructions. On May 4, they set fire to the relay box between the “Novaya Derevnya” and “Lakhta” stations. The suspects were detained on May 5. At first they were accused of willful damage to property, and later charged with sabotage.

The joint press service of the St. Petersburg courts notes that Ivanov pleaded guilty in full, while Saratovtsev pleaded guilty partially. They will stay in the SIZO, at least, until September 12.

• From the beginning of autumn 2022 until the middle of April, at least 66 people were detained in Russia on charges of sabotage on railways. Most of the detainees were reported from the beginning of 2023, after the adoption of the law that tightens responsibility for sabotage. This is stated in the “Mediazony” study.
• Against the background of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities regularly report on the detention of saboteurs who are allegedly preparing attacks on infrastructure facilities at the behest of the Ukrainian special services. As a rule, Official Kyiv does not comment on such messages.