Novosibirsk residents were sentenced to 12 and 6 years in prison for setting fire to a relay cabinet.

Sergei Ivanov and Nikita Stepanov were tried for sabotage, Mediazona reports. Ivanov, 20, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with the first 3,5 years to be served in a maximum-security penal colony and the remainder to be served in a maximum-security penal colony. Stepanov, 17, was sentenced to six years in a minimum-security penal colony.

According to investigators, in 2023, an unknown person offered Stepanov 20 rubles via instant messaging to set fire to a relay cabinet at the West Siberian Railway. The young man agreed and asked his friend, Sergei Ivanov, to help him.

On November 21, 2023, minors set fire to a relay cabinet between the Kleshchikha and Chemskaya stations in Novosibirsk. No tragedy ensued, but the damage from the arson was estimated at nearly 135 rubles.

In recent years, Russia has seen an increase in the number of criminal cases related to the arson of railway relay cabinets. Before the war in Ukraine, this was classified as intentional property damage; now, it is classified as sabotage or terrorist acts.

Most of the cases involve minors who, according to investigators, were recruited through instant messaging apps with the promise of monetary reward.