In Russia, a soldier who set a plane on fire at the behest of phone scammers has been convicted

The Northern Fleet Military Court has sentenced a 20-year-old private to prison for setting fire to military equipment in the Murmansk region. The soldier was found guilty of committing two acts of terrorism, for which he will spend the first four years in prison and another 11 years in a maximum-security penal colony. 

This was reported by The Moscow Times. 

According to the investigation, in May 2025, the perpetrators, posing as bank employees and Russian security service agents, tricked the man into transferring 350,000 rubles and then persuaded him to carry out acts of sabotage.

The fraudsters convinced the contract soldier that he had allegedly “sponsored” the Ukrainian army and offered him a way to “atone for his guilt” by setting fire to military equipment. On May 14, the soldier poured a flammable mixture into the fuel tanks of three armored all-terrain vehicles on the military unit’s grounds, and the next day set fire to an aircraft’s landing gear at a military airfield. The Russian Ministry of Defense estimated the damage at 2.5 million rubles.

This incident was part of a broader trend of using social engineering to involve Russian citizens in sabotage activities at strategic facilities. Despite the defendant’s young age and the fact that he was financially blackmailed, the court imposed the maximum sentence under terrorism charges. Currently, the defendant’s defense team has not commented on the possibility of an appeal, though judicial practice in Russia regarding such cases remains consistently strict. Russian authorities are using this case as a warning to other military personnel about the dangers of contacting unknown individuals via messaging apps.

Russia has seen a sharp spike in phone scams. Blocking calls in messaging apps and bank controls have not helped.

Russian and Slovak volleyball player and former Russian national team member Lukáš Divíš has contacted Russian police because he believes he has been the victim of fraud.