Russia jails retired pilot for planning to join Ukraine Army

According to a Russian court, a 61-year-old retired airline pilot was given a sentence of more than eight years in prison on Friday for allegedly plotting to enlist in the Ukrainian army.

Igor Pokusin, who was born in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, scribbled “Glory to Ukraine” on the wall of a local museum in his home town of Siberia and splattered paint on a flag supporting the armed forces in March 2022.

Rights groups claimed that after receiving a six-month suspended sentence for those offenses, he was accused of “treason” based on wiretapped conversations with relatives in Ukraine.

Pokusin, who the local media reports has a number of health issues, was accused by prosecutors of having plans to go to Ukraine in order to “fight against the Russian army”.

Pokusin was sentenced to three years in prison the day after a human rights activist was found guilty of “discrediting” Moscow’s army in a social media post.

(With agency inputs)