By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A Russian court has sentenced a 25-year-old man to 13 years in jail on treason charges after he attempted to join the Ukrainian army, the FSB security service said on Tuesday.
The FSB gave the name of the convict as Artem Konstantinov, who was born in 2000.
Investigations reveal that he reached out to a recruiter for the Ukrainian army, where he expressed interest in fighting for Ukrainian forces.
Konstantinov contacted the Ukrainian army on the Telegram messaging app “and expressed his willingness to participate in combat actions on the territory of Ukraine against the Russian armed forces,” the FSB security service stated.
Moscow has jailed dozens of Russians for allegedly collaborating with or supporting Kyiv’s military since Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022.
Konstantinov was sentenced by a court in the Arctic region of Murmansk to 13 years in prison for treason, the FSB said in a statement on Tuesday.
The three-year war will be at the centre of discussions as US and Russian officials meet in the coming days in Saudi Arabia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, has criticised the peace deal at the instance of US President Donald Trump, alleging that Kyiv is not being carried along.
He has also said any ceasefire without Kyiv’s input will collapse.
