Court jails man for poison attempt on army pilots

A Russian military court on Tuesday sentenced a man to 27 years in jail for attempting to kill army pilots with poisoned alcohol and cakes at a graduation party on Ukrainian orders.

According to Russian investigators, Yegor Semenov was recruited by the Ukrainian secret service and was promised about $5,000 for sending poisoned alcohol and cakes to a military pilot's graduation party in Armavir, southern Russia.

A dual national, Semenov, 34, was born in Ukraine and acquired Russian citizenship only in 2022, investigators said.

"The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony," the court said Tuesday.

The poison plot ultimately failed as the pilots grew suspicious of the package and sent it for an examination, which revealed a lethal dose of a medical drug in the cakes and the whisky and cognac bottles.

But prosecutors requested a life sentence for Semenov, who was charged with state treason and terrorism, and will appeal the verdict.

Russia has been hit with a slew of killings of its servicemen behind the frontlines, including high-ranking generals, after launching its offensive in Ukraine, which entered its fourth year.

Most recently, Russia has accused Kyiv of being behind the murder of senior Russian general Yaroslav Moskalik, who was killed in a car blast outside Moscow last week.

Ukraine normally does not comment on any covert operations inside Russia.