On the morning of February 26, 2023, a Russian DRLV A-50 long-range reconnaissance aircraft exploded in two places at the Machulishchi airfield. It was used to guide Russian missiles to targets in Ukraine. It was reported that the aircraft was currently undergoing repairs at the 325th Aircraft Repair Plant, 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.
A trial in absentia for the criminal case against Andrei Balmakov, Evgeniya Tochitskaya, Ekaterina Ostrova, and Antonina Naydovich was scheduled for April 22, 2026. All were charged under Part 2 of Article 361-4 (assistance to extremist activity), and Antonina was additionally charged under Article 369 (insulting a government official) of the Criminal Code.
