Russia sentenced Ukrainian powerlifting champion Yulia Lemeshchenko on charges of "treason" - BBC
Kyiv • UNN
The athlete, who holds a Russian passport but competed for Ukraine, received 19 years in prison and a fine of 1 million rubles. She is accused of "treason" in favor of Ukraine.
In Russia, a Ukrainian powerlifting champion was sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges of "treason." This refers to 42-year-old Yulia Lemeshchenko, who holds a Russian passport, UNN reports with reference to BBC.
Details
The woman was also fined 1 million rubles. She was accused of involvement in undermining power lines near St. Petersburg and spying on a Russian soldier in Voronezh.
According to the investigation, after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the woman allegedly underwent training in Kyiv, and then came to Russia to carry out sabotage. For this, according to Russian security forces, she was promised Ukrainian citizenship.
It is reported that Lemeshchenko admitted the factual side of the accusation, but stated that she did not consider herself guilty "from a moral point of view," as she was defending her home - the city of Kharkiv.
Recall
Earlier, UNN reported that in Russia, a real sentence was handed down in absentia to blogger Yuri Dud, who had previously been recognized as a "foreign agent." The reason was fines for publications without a "foreign agent" label and three posts on social networks.