Two students from Noyabrsk have been charged with blowing up a helicopter worth £1m, causing serious damage and leading to their arrest.
Russian authorities say Timur, 13, and Sasha, 14, were behind the act of sabotage, which left the Mi-8T helicopter “almost completely destroyed” in a fiery explosion.
The boys reportedly used lit cigarettes and liquid fuel to power up the helicopter, which is routinely used to service vital oil and gas infrastructure in Siberia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region.
According to reports from media outlet BAZA, which has close ties to Russian law enforcement, the boys claimed they were offered around £42,000 via messaging app Telegram as a reward for carrying out the attack.
It is still unclear who made the offer, but one theory suggests that The teenagers may have believed the act could somehow bring home the father of one of the boys, who had been drafted to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Two students from Noyabrsk have been charged with blowing up a helicopter worth £1m, causing extensive damage and leading to their arrest.
Russian police say Timur, 13, and Sasha, 14, were behind the act of sabotage, which left the Mi-8T helicopter (pictured) “almost completely destroyed”
Both teens suffered significant burns to their faces and hands during the incident and sought medical help, which ultimately led to their capture.
They are now under armed guard while receiving treatment at a local hospital.
The boys previously claimed they had been paid £250 to destroy a mobile phone mast, a task they completed before attacking the helicopter.
Investigators revealed that they had entered the helipad through a hole in the fence to carry out their plan.
A criminal case has been opened regarding the explosion.
It comes like the Kremlin has warned that it will carry out an “appropriate response” if Ukraine uses Western missiles to attack Russian soil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has increasingly urged the West to allow his forces to use long-range weapons, including U.S. ATACMS missiles, against Russian territory to combat the invasion of his nation, now in its 30th month.
US President Joe Biden said last night that his administration was “figuring it out now” when asked if he would lift restrictions on kyiv’s use of missiles such as the ATACMS.
Both teens suffered significant burns to their faces and hands during the incident and sought medical help, which ultimately led to their capture.
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Vladimir Putin’s forces would demand an “appropriate response” if Ukraine was allowed to use Western missiles.
Peskov added that “there is no need to expect the same kind of response everywhere.”
“The answer to all these actions is SMO (special military operation),” Peskov said, using the Kremlin’s preferred term for the Ukraine conflict.
“Each of these decisions, taken by the Western collective and then attributed to Ukraine, is a further confirmation of the justification, necessity and inevitability of the SMO.”
