A resident of St. Petersburg was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the case of arson of a diesel locomotive at the Ruchi station

The St. Petersburg City Court sentenced local resident Sergei Sakharov to 12 years in prison under the article of sabotage. According to the joint press service of the courts of St. Petersburg, he will have to serve the first three years in prison, the rest of the term in a maximum security colony.

According to investigators, on the night of January 18, 2025, Sakharov took with him an incendiary mixture, a nail crowbar, and a lighter and came to the picket of the dead-end track of the Ruchi railway station. There he found a diesel locomotive, after which he broke open the driver's cabin door and got inside, where he spilled an incendiary mixture and set it on fire.

As a result, the driver's cabin was completely burned out from the inside, the metal body was deformed, and the high-voltage chamber of the diesel locomotive was partially burned out. The amount of damage to Russian Railways amounted to 6,513,185 rubles and 98 kopecks.

The press service of the Russian Guard for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region clarifies that at the time of the arson Sakharov was 22 years old. The Window publication cites the story of his mother Irena: according to her, her son has been suing the military registration and enlistment office since February 2022 after refusing to serve in the army due to health problems and rejection of violence.

Shortly before the arson, Sakharov, according to his mother, “started constantly receiving calls from someone via messenger.” Subsequently, the accused admitted guilt in arson, but specified that he was “under psychological influence” at the time.

Sakharov was detained on January 19, the day after the arson. On January 20, the court sent him to a pre-trial detention center. During a hearing on extending the preventive measure in March, the court refused to transfer Sakharov to house arrest under the pretext that the person involved might try to leave for Ukraine, since his biological father was there.