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Russian single mother sentenced to 18 years for allegedly trying to flee to Ukraine and join the Freedom of Russia Legion
Manage episode 489815326 series 3381925
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A Yekaterinburg military court has sentenced 48-year-old Vera Sidorkina, a resident of Yoshkar-Ola, to 18 years in prison on charges of treason and attempting to join the Freedom of Russia Legion, Mediazona reports.
The trial revealed that Sidorkina was detained on April 24, 2024. However, the FSB did not announce her arrest until October 30, when it accused her of aiding “Ukrainian terrorists” by passing on information about “defense industry facilities” in the Mari El Republic.
Prosecutors said Sidorkina “intended to cross the Russian border with her child in order to join the enemy’s side, but was stopped by border agents as she attempted to leave the country.”
According to the prosecution, Sidorkina contacted representatives of the Freedom of Russia Legion in 2023 and submitted an application to join the group as a medical or support worker. She allegedly “proactively offered to cooperate with a representative of Ukraine’s intelligence services” and sent him satellite images with coordinates of “defense industry enterprises and Russian Defense Ministry sites.”
The specific sites were not named. Mediazona suggests the case may involve the Mari Machine-Building Plant, which manufactures both civilian and military equipment. According to the outlet, Sidorkina worked there as a driver until 2019, then took a job as a florist.
Sidorkina was raising her daughter, born in 2014, on her own. It is unclear who is caring for the child following her arrest.
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