Eight individuals sentenced to life imprisonment by Russian courts in relation to an attack on a bridge connecting Crimea with Russia made a collective plea for their release on Tuesday, asserting that they were unaware of the operation planned by Kyiv.
The explosion in 2022 resulted in five fatalities and caused significant damage to the Crimean Bridge, a structure that was constructed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and has since stood as a powerful emblem of President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions.
The bridge experienced two additional major assaults in 2023 and 2025, both executed by Ukrainian forces as part of their efforts against Russia’s invasion.
The group, comprised of individuals from Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia, sought appeals from Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, urging them to consider their release in any discussions regarding prisoner exchanges aimed at resolving the conflict.
Imprisoned since last year, the men have consistently maintained their innocence, characterizing themselves in their appeal for freedom as “eight ordinary individuals… who simply woke up each day to work for their bread, pay their bills, and embrace their children.”
“Yet now we are labeled as ‘terrorists.’ We have been condemned to life imprisonment, facing a slow and humiliating demise in the concrete confines of Russian prisons,” they expressed in a letter shared by Russia’s Memorial human rights organization.
Some members of the group have been associated with the transport of construction materials that contained concealed explosives, but they have persistently claimed ignorance of this fact.
Human rights organizations noted that they were fulfilling their regular job responsibilities, while Kyiv pointed out that they had involved individuals who were “unaware” of the plan.
The group includes a logistics company leader from St. Petersburg, as well as farmers and fruit vendors from occupied Ukraine and a truck driver.
During the November sentencing, logistics and supply manager Oleg Antipov, who had arranged for a driver to deliver materials to Crimea, protested loudly, “We are innocent!”
In 2023, Vasyl Malyuk, the then-head of Ukraine’s SBU, acknowledged that Kyiv had utilized “numerous people in the dark” for the operation, asserting that Moscow arrested individuals who were merely going about their daily routines.
Among those imprisoned is farmer Roman Solomko from occupied Ukraine, who had given advice to a neighbor—possibly an SBU operative—on how to transport materials into Russia after Western sanctions were implemented.
He claimed he had no knowledge of the explosives.
Others in the group include fruit trader Vladimir Zlob; brothers Artyom and Georgy Azatyan, who owned a warehouse; trader Alexander Bylin; and Armenian truck driver Artur Terchanyan—all of whom believed they were engaged in standard transportation logistics.
