(Reuters) – Two former defence workers were sentenced in Russia to 17 and 13 years in prison for treason on Tuesday after being found guilty of passing military intelligence to Ukraine and planning to blow up railway lines, the Kursk Regional Court said in a statement.
The couple, who were formerly married, were arrested last month by the FSB security service in the Kursk region, near the border with Ukraine, and accused of handing over technical documents and models used in the manufacture of weapons systems for Russia’s air force.
In a statement announcing their arrests, the FSB had said the pair, identified as R.A. Sidorkin and T.A. Sidorkina, had been involved in plans to blow up railway lines in the Kursk and Belgorod regions that are used to supply Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
It said it had seized more than 4 kg (9 pounds) of plastic explosives, four detonators, military design documentation and $150,000 in cash.
Sidorkin, 50, was additionally charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and sentenced to 17 years. Sidorkina, 41, was sentenced to 13 years.
(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
