A Russian female official faces up to 25 years in prison for withdrawing £885 in cash “to help Ukraine carry out a wartime sabotage attack”.
Viktoria Shinkaruk, 28, is accused of acting as a Ukrainian agent by throwing most of the money in a bin – a “dead drop” – at a supermarket “for use by terrorists” working for Kiev.
She denies the charge, saying she withdrew the money at her husband’s request and received a small commission. She did not know what the money was for and that she had no intention of committing a terrorist crime.
Her husband Evgeny Kisel, 35, had previously escaped house arrest and fled to his family in Ukraine, fearing a 10-year prison sentence on drug charges.
Shinkaruk, who was seen handcuffed to a policewoman, is now due to appear before a military court in Moscow and could face a quarter-century in prison if found guilty under Russia’s draconian new terrorism laws.
Former Russian official from Belgorod region Viktoria Shinkaruk, 28, faces up to 25 years in prison for ‘supporting terrorists’
Shinkaruk is seen in a courtroom after her arrest
She denies the accusation and says she withdrew the money at her husband’s request
Shinkaruk is pictured at the 2nd Western District Military Court of Moscow
Shinkaruk’s ‘accomplice’ Alexander Kholodkov is pictured
“Viktoria Shinkaruk was part of a terrorist community with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack,” police sources said, as reported by state news agency TASS.
She was a state inspector in the Belgorod region, an area bordering Ukraine, until she was dismissed after her arrest.
Her co-defendant Alexander Kholodkov is alleged to have withdrawn a larger sum – more than £3,300 – at her husband’s request and thrown it in the same bin in the city of Belgorod.
He is also said to have ‘moved explosives to hiding places’.
Russian authorities allege the money was intended to help unknown members of a criminal organization carry out a terrorist bombing in the early months of the war.
“They used the messaging apps Signal and Telegram to communicate with handlers from Ukraine,” TASS reported.
‘Based on their instructions, Kholodkov placed explosives and money, necessary for carrying out a terrorist attack, in hiding places.’
However, after two years of investigation, prosecutors have still not been able to name the alleged saboteurs or Ukrainian accomplices, nor is it known where the alleged terrorist attack took place.
Shinkaruk has been held in the notorious Lefortovo pre-trial detention center for 22 months, awaiting the start of her trial.
According to her relatives, she followed her husband’s instructions in moving the money, but no mercy is expected from the court.
A male relative said: ‘I am sure she did not act against Russia deliberately.
‘She is a calm, down-to-earth person, not crazy.
‘I think her husband set her up with the transfer of the money. She just believed his words.
“They’ve been married for about six years now. He’s still her husband.”
Shinkaruk’s relatives say she followed her husband’s instructions in moving the money, but no mercy is expected from the court
Russian authorities allege the money was intended for unidentified members of a criminal group to carry out a terrorist bombing
Viktoria pictured at the 2nd Western District Military Court of Moscow
Shinkaruk has been held in the notorious Lefortovo pre-trial detention center for 22 months awaiting the start of her trial
Her relatives say she followed her husband’s instructions in moving the money, but no mercy is expected from the court.
A male friend said, “I don’t believe she can do anything against the country.
“She is a very smart girl, very attractive, during the whole time we spoke, I never heard her make any questionable statements. She loves our country.”
Another friend, Sergei, told the Regnum news agency: ‘I think her husband brainwashed her into thinking that this money would help him avoid criminal charges.
She was stupid and only wanted to help.
‘Now she could lose her childhood, the chance to start a family [by being locked up in jail].
The pair are accused of illegal trafficking in explosives, smuggling of strategically important goods and raw materials by an organised group, participation in a terrorist group, preparation of a terrorist act by a group of persons through prior conspiracy and preparation of the illegal manufacture of explosives.
Russia considers sabotage attacks by Ukraine in Russia as terrorism, while Moscow started the war in February 2022.