Latest news with #Semenov
Daily Mirror
30-04-2025
- Daily Mirror
Ukrainian spy 'tried to poison Russian military pilots with doped cake and booze'
A Ukrainian spy who tried to poison scores of Russian military pilots with doped cake and booze has been sentenced to 27 years behind bars on terrorist charges. Accused Yegor Semenov, 34, had been recruited by Kyiv's Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) in a bizarre plot to kill graduates from Russia's elite Top Gun school, the trial heard. Judges at the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don heard how Semenov had been promised RUB 400,000 (GBP 3,600) by his handlers to carry out the mass poisoning. Semenov, who had the SUB codename 'Mercenary 35', had targeted 70 guests at a reunion party for Russia's Armavir Higher Military Aviation School in Krasnodar Krai. The 70-plus party-goers included some of Russia's most experienced and senior pilots, military chiefs and their families. Prosecutors told how Semenov had bought 118 bottles of booze like Jameson's Irish Whiskey and cheap Armenian Kochari brandy and a giant cake. According to the court he injected them with the huge doses of the powerful medical stimulant cordiamine, which can cause seizures and respiratory arrest. Finally, it was decided Semenov used a courier service to send the toxic treats to the party at the Tsarskaya Okhota restaurant with a note pretending saying they were gifts from a missing guest. But the closed-door trial heard how the plot fell apart when some pilots became suspicious of the medical smell coming from the cake and called police to the bash in April last year (2024). Forensic tests showed the cake and every bottle of alcohol had been doped by the deadly drug, once used in small doses by Adolf Hitler's doctor to combat barbiturate overdoses. Semenov was arrested just hours later in possession of a return ticket to Moscow and plans to flee to Egypt. The court heard how Semenov discussed the plot in encrypted messaging apps with his SUB paymasters. Prosecutors told how Ukrainian-born Semenov had moved to Russia in 2018 and obtained Russian citizenship four years later. But after the Kremlin's invasion of his homeland, he contacted the SUB and offered to help them sabotage the Russian military. Semenov admitted treason and terrorism but claimed he had been blackmailed by the SUB who had threatened to harm his mother. But under interrogation, police said Semenov had described his feelings of "pure joy" at the idea of the elite Russian pilots tucking into the poison. The trial began in January 2025 and concluded with the hefty jail sentence on 29th April. Semenov will serve the first five years in a hard-labour prison, with the remainder in a strict-regime penal colony, followed by one year of restricted freedom. Prosecutors had pushed for a full life tariff and now plans to appeal the sentence.
Metro
30-04-2025
- Metro
'Ukrainian spy' tried wiping out Putin's pilots by poisoning cake and whiskey
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An alleged Ukrainian spy who tried to poison dozens of Russian war pilots has been jailed for 27 years. Yegor Semenov, 34, was convicted of treason and terrorism by a Russian military court. He is accused of spiking a giant cake, 76 bottles of Jameson Irish Whiskey, and 40 bottles of brandy and sending them to a reunion event at Armavir Military Flight School. The 20kg cake was sliced but left uneaten after a senior officer became suspicious over who had sent it. It was then discovered the items were spiked with a 'potent' Russian drug which could cause seizures, convulsions, cardiovascular stress and acute breathing problems. A court statement said he had been ordered by the Ukrainian SBU secret service to 'puncture' the bottle tops 'and use a syringe to extract part of the drink from the bottle, after which he added the drug in a toxic dose, which would lead to the death of people'. There were 77 guests at the reunion event, and it's not known if any pilots became ill as a result of consuming the doctored cake or alcohol. CCTV footage and facial recognition technology was used to identify and find Semenov, who was in Melitopol in occupied Ukraine. Semenov is a Russian citizen who carried a Russian passport, but the court was told he took orders from Ukrainian intelligence. The court heard he was detained at Stavropol airport as he attempted to leave the country. More Trending Semenov allegedly confessed to the poisoning mission, for which he had been offered the equivalent of £3,660. He was convicted by a closed-door military trial in Rostov-on-Don and will spend five of his 27-year sentence in prison before being moved to a maximum security penal colony. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Ukrainian journalist's body returned from Russia 'without eyes or brain' MORE: Putin announces ceasefire on 80th anniversary of VE Day MORE: CIA official's son killed fighting for Putin took childhood rebellion to extreme
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Melitopol native sentenced to 27 years in Russian prison for attempting to poison military graduates
Ukrainian national Yehor Semenov has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for his involvement in the "poisoning" of graduates from the Armavir Higher Military Aviation School. The ruling has been handed down by the Southern District Military Court in Russia. Source: Russia's Southern District Military Court on Telegram Quote: "The defendant has been found guilty and sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony with the first 5 years to be served in prison." Details: Russian investigators claimed that Semenov had intended to cooperate with Ukrainian security services as early as February 2023. He allegedly recorded a video message in Ukrainian expressing his intent to collaborate with Ukraine's Security Service and Armed Forces, and was later tasked with organising the poisoning of Russian military personnel. The target was graduates of the Armavir Air Defence School, who were planning a banquet in October 2023. According to the prosecution, Semenov was tasked with delivering alcoholic beverages and a cake laced with a poisonous substance to the event. He allegedly studied the restaurant's layout, noting the positions of windows, tables and CCTV cameras. He also ordered the cake and purchased the toxic substances. Semenov supposedly delivered the alcohol and cake to the restaurant by courier on 20 October. The Russian graduates found the alcohol and cake suspicious and did not consume them. The defendant was detained on 21 October 2023. The court found him guilty under charges of terrorism and high treason (Article 205.3(a) and Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Background: In October 2023, it was reported that Yehor Semenov, a native of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, had been detained for 15 days in Armavir, Russia's Krasnodar Krai, under an administrative charge of disorderly conduct. Russian Telegram channel Baza reported that Semenov had been apprehended in Stavropol while attempting to fly to Moscow. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Man found guilty of trying to kill Russia army pilots with poisoned booze
A Russian military court convicted and sentenced a man to 27 years in jail on Tuesday for attempting to kill army pilots with poisoned alcohol and cakes at a graduation party on Ukrainian orders. According to Russian investigators, Yegor Semenov was recruited by the Ukrainian secret service and was promised about $5,000 for sending poisoned alcohol and cakes to a military pilots graduation party in Armavir, southern Russia. Semenov, a 34-year-old dual national, was born in Ukraine and acquired Russian citizenship only in 2022, investigators said. "The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony," the court said Tuesday. The poison plot ultimately failed as the pilots grew suspicious of the package and sent it for an examination, which revealed a lethal dose of a medical drug in the cakes and the whisky and cognac bottles. A post on Telegram purported to show an image of a drug-laced cake. Prosecutors requested a life sentence for Semenov, who was charged with state treason and terrorism, and will appeal the verdict. Russia has been hit with a slew of killings of its servicemen behind the frontlines, including high-ranking generals, after launching its offensive in Ukraine, which entered its fourth year. Most recently, Russia has accused Kyiv of being behind the murder of senior Russian general Yaroslav Moskalik, who was killed in a car blast outside Moscow last week. Ukraine normally does not comment on any covert operations inside Russia but in some cases Kyiv has claimed responsibility. These include the August 2022 car bombing of nationalist Darya Dugina and an explosion in a Saint Petersburg cafe in April 2023 that killed high-profile military correspondent Maxim Fomin, known as Vladlen Tatarsky. In December 2023, Illia Kiva, a former pro-Moscow Ukrainian lawmaker who fled to Russia, was shot and killed near Moscow. The Ukrainian military intelligence lauded the killing, warning that other "traitors of Ukraine" would share the same fate. Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian military's chemical weapons unit, was killed by a bomb planted in a scooter in Moscow in December. Ukrainian security sources told CBS News the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) killed Kirillov in a special operation. After Kirillov's killing, Putin made a rare admission of failings by his powerful security agencies, saying: "We must not allow such very serious blunders to happen." Kristi Noem says she's "very confident" undocumented migrants stole her purse Supreme Court appears poised to side with student with disability in school discrimination case Sneak peek: The Bathtub Murder of Kendy Howard
CBS News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Man accused of trying to kill Russia army pilots with poisoned liquor and cakes is sentenced to 27 years
A Russian military court convicted and sentenced a man to 27 years in jail on Tuesday for attempting to kill army pilots with poisoned alcohol and cakes at a graduation party on Ukrainian orders. According to Russian investigators, Yegor Semenov was recruited by the Ukrainian secret service and was promised about $5,000 for sending poisoned alcohol and cakes to a military pilots graduation party in Armavir, southern Russia. Semenov, a 34-year-old dual national, was born in Ukraine and acquired Russian citizenship only in 2022, investigators said. "The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony," the court said Tuesday. The poison plot ultimately failed as the pilots grew suspicious of the package and sent it for an examination, which revealed a lethal dose of a medical drug in the cakes and the whisky and cognac bottles. A post on Telegram purported to show an image of a drug-laced cake. Prosecutors requested a life sentence for Semenov, who was charged with state treason and terrorism, and will appeal the verdict. Russia has been hit with a slew of killings of its servicemen behind the frontlines, including high-ranking generals, after launching its offensive in Ukraine, which entered its fourth year. Most recently, Russia has accused Kyiv of being behind the murder of senior Russian general Yaroslav Moskalik, who was killed in a car blast outside Moscow last week. Ukraine normally does not comment on any covert operations inside Russia but in some cases Kyiv has claimed responsibility. These include the August 2022 car bombing of nationalist Darya Dugina and an explosion in a Saint Petersburg cafe in April 2023 that killed high-profile military correspondent Maxim Fomin, known as Vladlen Tatarsky. In December 2023, Illia Kiva, a former pro-Moscow Ukrainian lawmaker who fled to Russia, was shot and killed near Moscow. The Ukrainian military intelligence lauded the killing, warning that other "traitors of Ukraine" would share the same fate. Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian military's chemical weapons unit, was killed by a bomb planted in a scooter in Moscow in December. Ukrainian security sources told CBS News the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) killed Kirillov in a special operation. After Kirillov's killing, Putin made a rare admission of failings by his powerful security agencies, saying: "We must not allow such very serious blunders to happen."
