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6/24/2025, 9:35:58 AM
Russian Court Sentences Ukrainian Man to 13 Years for Plot to Kill Crimea’s Governor
A Russian military court on Monday sentenced a Ukrainian man to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges for plotting to assassinate the Kremlin-installed governor of the annexed Crimean peninsula, Russian state media reported.
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don found Vladimir Bodnar, a native of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, guilty of participating in a terrorist group and preparing a terrorist act. His sentence includes an initial three years in a high-security prison, with the remaining time to be served in a strict-regime penal colony. He was also fined 500,000 rubles (approx. $5,700).
According to prosecutors, Bodnar and two accomplices, identified as Oksana Shevchenko and Vladimir Ananyev, planned to assassinate Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea. Investigators stated the group surveilled Aksyonov's movements and, in May 2023, smuggled a radio-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) into Crimea, hiding it in a garage.
Court officials said the plot was foiled by law enforcement who seized the device before the attack could be carried out. Bodnar and his alleged co-conspirators were detained in February 2024.
Bodnar pleaded partially guilty. One of his accomplices, Shevchenko, was sentenced in May to ten years in prison. The status of Ananyev's case is unclear.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world considers illegal. Since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, Russian officials have reported thwarting numerous alleged Ukrainian attacks and sabotage plots on the peninsula.
A Russian military court on Monday sentenced a Ukrainian man to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges for plotting to assassinate the Kremlin-installed governor of the annexed Crimean peninsula, Russian state media reported.
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don found Vladimir Bodnar, a native of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, guilty of participating in a terrorist group and preparing a terrorist act. His sentence includes an initial three years in a high-security prison, with the remaining time to be served in a strict-regime penal colony. He was also fined 500,000 rubles (approx. $5,700).
According to prosecutors, Bodnar and two accomplices, identified as Oksana Shevchenko and Vladimir Ananyev, planned to assassinate Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea. Investigators stated the group surveilled Aksyonov's movements and, in May 2023, smuggled a radio-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) into Crimea, hiding it in a garage.
Court officials said the plot was foiled by law enforcement who seized the device before the attack could be carried out. Bodnar and his alleged co-conspirators were detained in February 2024.
Bodnar pleaded partially guilty. One of his accomplices, Shevchenko, was sentenced in May to ten years in prison. The status of Ananyev's case is unclear.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world considers illegal. Since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, Russian officials have reported thwarting numerous alleged Ukrainian attacks and sabotage plots on the peninsula.
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