On the morning of February 26, 2023, explosions occurred at the Machulishchi airfield near a Russian long-range reconnaissance aircraft DRLV A-50, it was blown up in two places. It was used to guide Russian missiles to targets in Ukraine. It was reported that the aircraft is currently undergoing repairs at the 325th aircraft repair plant, which is part of the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex in Russia.
The main defendant in the case and, as official bodies and propagandists claimed , the perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets, was released in June in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
Nikolai Shvets, Alexander Azarov, Alla Yatsuta, Vitaly Yakutik, Evgenia Tochitskaya, Mikhail Demin and Sergei Loparov were tried in absentia.
