Two servicemen will pay the Ministry of Defense 31 million rubles for accidentally launching a rocket

The Crimean Garrison Military Court ordered two servicemen to pay 31 million rubles in accordance with the claim of the Russian Ministry of Defense for accidentally launching an aircraft guided missile at the airfield in Saki.

As reported by Kommersant, on October 1, 2017, air unit technicians Nikolay Zverev and Alexey Chebanov, using the Oka complex, monitored the technical condition of aircraft guided weapons, including two Kh-29TD air-to-surface missiles. The length of each of them was about four meters, and the weight was about 700 kilograms.

The servicemen violated the work regulations and did not check the serviceability of the check mechanisms of one of the missiles. When the current was applied, the squibs fired and the rocket took off. There were no casualties, but another Kh-29TD missile and various equipment were destroyed.

The cost of each of the missiles that had to be written off was 18.4 million rubles. Experts valued the Oka complex and other equipment at 9.5 million. The servicemen were found guilty of violating the rules for handling weapons that pose an increased danger to others.

The Ministry of Defense demanded to pay 46.5 million rubles. But the garrison military court, taking into account mitigating circumstances, including causing harm through negligence, reduced the amount of the claim to 31 million rubles. Zverev must pay 15 million, and Chebanov - 16. From their salary, 10% and 15%, respectively, will be withheld as state income.

In October, a court in Nalchik upheld the claim of the Ministry of Defense against artillery brigade soldier Nikita Proskurin, who inadvertently broke the Pion cannon. The contractor must pay 25.4 million rubles for damage to military property.

In July, the Stavropol Garrison Court considered a similar case against Roman Elansky. According to Kommersant, the serviceman, without a license, drove the Pantsir-S combat vehicle, which overturned and was completely disabled. Material damage exceeded 17.4 million rubles. But the court decided to recover from Elansky only the amount of monthly allowance - 40 thousand rubles.