Russia jails 13 for sabotage attacks against Ukraine offensive

A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced 13 people to lengthy jail terms over sabotage attacks that prosecutors said were an attempt to thwart Moscow's offensive on Ukraine.

Russia has seen a spate of arson and other attacks on railway and military sites since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, with courts often metering out harsh punishments to those arrested.

A military court in the Siberian city of Chita said it had sentenced 13 people over 13 sabotage attacks on "strategically important transportation infrastructure facilities" and critical energy sites.

It said they were acting with the "aim of undermining the economic security and defence capability of the Russian Federation" and trying to get Moscow to "cease participation in the special military operation," Russia's official term for its Ukraine campaign.

They were sentenced to between four and 23 years in jail.

It said 12 were members of a criminal group that was run by an "unidentified person", with one labelled an "accomplice".

The group was also plotting to set fire to Russian fighter jets at a military base in the Far East when they were arrested, the court said.

Video published by the court showed several defendants -- all men -- standing in metal cages as the judge read out the sentences.

Russia's vast railway network, which is used to ferry troops and equipment for the Ukraine offensive, has been hit with several sabotage attacks amid the military campaign.