Ukrainian lawyer jailed in Russia for eight years for 'espionage'

"Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court has sentenced Ukrainian Ihor Kyiashko to eight years in a high-security colony, having found him guilty of preparing for smuggling of military equipment and espionage. The court admitted that the convict had bought parts of the engines of multipurpose MiG-29 fighter aircraft for shipment to Ukraine and was collecting secret documentation on the installation of an S-400 anti-aircraft missile system on the instructions of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)," reads the statement.

Kyiashko's lawyer, Alexei Matasov, said he considered the sentence to be rather mild and did not intend to challenge it.

According to the prosecution, Kyiashko tried to buy in Russia and bring to Ukraine the blades to the RD-33 engine, which is used on MiG-29 fighter aircraft. The sale was under the control of Russia's FSB Security Service. He was detained at the time of the transfer of money. Kyiashko was also found guilty of an attempt to gather information about a radar station used in the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.

Kyiashko himself admitted that he was trying to buy blades from the RD-33 engine, but denied allegations of espionage. According to him, secret documents were thrown to him during detention.