Ukrainian pilot convicted of attempting to hijack a combat aircraft to Russia
In Khmelnytskyi, a pilot major was convicted of treason and attempted hijacking of an airplane to Russia, according to the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
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The deputy squadron commander for work with personnel of the military unit B-2806 with the rank of major of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in mid-2014 came to the attention of army counterintelligence for sympathy for the LDPR, expressed in the low quality of the results of reconnaissance flights along the border of Ukraine, as well as related conversations in everyday life among colleagues.
According to the investigation, the pilot was recruited by employees of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Federation in order to transfer to them the results of reconnaissance flights, and after that he was even offered to hijack a Su-24MR military aircraft to Russia. For hijacking the plane, he was allegedly promised $30, the rank of colonel of the Russian Aerospace Forces and an apartment in Russia.
The investigation believes that the major accepted this offer because he took his family to the territory of the Russian Federation, and one day, while carrying out a reconnaissance flight along the border with the Russian Federation, he deviated from the given course, after which he was heard being asked on the frequency of the Ukrainian Air Force Russian air defense forces with the requirement to identify themselves. The pilot did not answer them and returned the plane to its original course.
Both during the investigation and at the trial, the major refused to testify, which did not prevent the court from finding him guilty of high treason and sentencing him to 12 years in prison.
Ukrainian pilot convicted of attempting to hijack fighter jet to Russia