Two schoolboys from Noyabrsk have been accused of blowing up a £1 million helicopter, causing severe damage and leading to their arrest.
Russian law enforcement alleges that Timur, 13, and Sasha, 14, were behind the act of sabotage, which left the Mi-8T helicopter ‘almost completely wrecked’ in a fiery explosion.
The boys reportedly used lit cigarettes and liquid fuel to ignite the helicopter, which is regularly used to service vital oil and gas infrastructure in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region of Siberia.
According to reports by media outlet BAZA, which has close ties to Russian law enforcement, the boys claimed they were offered around £42,000 through the Telegram messaging app as a reward for carrying out the attack.
It remains unclear who made the offer, but one theory suggests the teenagers may have believed the act could somehow bring home the father of one of the boys, who had been conscripted to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Two schoolboys from Noyabrsk have been accused of blowing up a £1 million helicopter, causing severe damage and leading to their arrest
Russian law enforcement alleges that Timur, 13, and Sasha, 14, were behind the act of sabotage, which left the Mi-8T helicopter (pictured) ‘almost completely wrecked’
Both teenagers suffered significant facial and hand burns during the incident and sought medical help, which ultimately led to their capture.
They are now under armed guard while receiving treatment in a local hospital.
Earlier, the boys claimed to have been paid £250 to destroy a mobile phone mast earlier, a task they completed before targeting the helicopter.
Investigators revealed that they’d entered the heliport through a hole in the fence to carry out their plan.
A criminal case has now been opened into the explosion.
It comes as the Kremlin has warned it will carry out an ‘appropriate response’ if Ukraine uses Western missiles to strike Russian soil.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has increasingly urged the West to allow his forces to use long-range weapons, including American ATACMS missiles, against Russian territory to combat the invasion of his nation, now in its 30th month.
US president Joe Biden said last night that his government was ‘working that out now’ when asked if he would lift restrictions on Kyiv’s use of missiles such as ATACMS.
Both teenagers suffered significant facial and hand burns during the incident and sought medical help, which ultimately led to their capture
In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that Vladimir Putin’s forces would exact an ‘appropriate response’ if Ukraine was allowed to use Western missiles.
Peskov added that ‘there is no need to expect some kind of response everywhere.’
‘To all these actions, the SMO (special military operation) is the response,’ said Peskov, using the Kremlin’s preferred term for the Ukraine conflict.
‘Each of these decisions, taken by the collective West and then attributed to Ukraine, is an additional confirmation of the justification, necessity and inevitability of the SMO.’
