The Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court sentenced 21-year-old Aleksandr Yesipov and 20-year-old Maksim Nureev to 23 years in prison each in a case involving the arson of mobile communications facilities. The Telegram channel “NPKK-info” reported this.
The court found both defendants guilty of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code), multiple counts of sabotage (Part 2 of Article 281 of the Criminal Code), and laundering illegal income (Part 3 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code). They are to serve the first five years in prison and the remainder of the term in a maximum-security penal colony.
According to the prosecution, Yesipov and Nureev set fire to three mobile towers belonging to MTS and MegaFon and also planned to set fire to a railway locomotive. Investigators say they received cryptocurrency payments for these acts from a handler allegedly linked to the Ukrainian special services. The defendants were also accused of attempting to involve an acquaintance in sabotage activity.
Yesipov and Nureev admitted that they had in fact set fire to the mobile towers. However, the defense argued that they acted out of financial motives and had no intent to commit sabotage. According to the defense, the defendants did not intend to involve other people in criminal activity and merely offered their acquaintance a way to earn money.
FSB officers detained Yesipov and Nureev in May 2024. In June of the same year, they were added to the Rosfinmonitoring registry. A year later, the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court began considering the case on the merits; initially, the defendants had been charged only with sabotage.
In September 2025, an FSB officer testified in court that the defendants had corresponded with accounts that security officials linked to the Ukrainian special services. “NPKK-info” noted that his testimony also included information the officer could not have known, including the defendants’ motives and details of the crimes.
In November last year, the court returned the case to prosecutors because of “circumstances indicating grounds to classify the actions as a more serious crime.” In February, the case was sent back to the regional court with new charges of treason and legalization of criminal proceeds.