The Grodno Regional Court in Belarus sentenced the defendants in the case of preparing sabotage — Belarusian Vadim Patsenko and Russian Alexei Kulikov — to 21 and 23 years in prison, respectively. This was reported by the Viasna project and the pro-government telegram channel Grodno Plums.
As Mediazona writes. Belarus», the defendants were accused under articles about agent activity, terrorist attack and act of international terrorism, treason and inciting hostility. The case of Patsenko and Kulikov was considered behind closed doors. According to Grodno Plums, during his final speech, Russian Kulikov made a speech in Ukrainian.
The arrest of the defendants in the case became known in April 2023. According to the KGB of Belarus, they were “planning terrorist attacks in Grodno”, “the target was several objects, including the Russian Consulate General.”
Patsenko was detained on March 3, 2023. Kulikov, who left for Belarus due to mobilization in Russia, on February 26 of the same year. The investigation believes that the Russian, on “orders of the Ukrainian special services,” photographed the Grodno military registration and enlistment office, a military unit, an oil depot and the Russian Consulate General, and Patsenko was supposed to blow up the oil depot using a drone and explosives.
According to the Belarusian authorities, help in the implementation Russian activist Daniil Krinari was responsible for the sabotage of Patsenko and Kulikov. In December 2023, he was detained in Grodno on suspicion of collaboration with the Ukrainian special services; the activist was later transferred to Moscow.
In April 2023, the Moscow City Court sentenced Crinari to five years in a general regime colony in a case of cooperation with a foreign state (Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code).