A Russian court has sent Alexander Kuranov, the former CEO and chief designer of the Enterprise for Research and Development of Hypersonic Systems (NIPGS), to prison for seven years, whom he found guilty of treason. This was reported today by the Reuters agency and The Moscow Times server. Now the 76-year-old scientist faced accusations that he passed information containing state secrets on the development of hypersonic technologies to a foreigner.
The Russian FSB secret service detained Kuranov in 2021, when he was the head of the St. Petersburg NIPGS, where, according to Reuters, he participated in the development of a new version of the Soviet-era Ajax hypersonic aircraft.
The court heard the case behind closed doors, which is standard practice in Russia when it comes to charges of treason or espionage. From today’s information, it is not clear whether the judgment is final or the opinion of Kuranov himself. In addition to a seven-year prison sentence in a penal colony with a strict regime, the court also imposed a fine of 100,000 rubles (over 25,000 crowns).
Russian missiles in the port of Pivdenny in Odessa hit two terminals specialized in agricultural production, one of which belongs to the well-known Singapore company Delta Wilmar. It has been doing business in Ukraine since 2004, since then it has invested more than 300 million dollars and created around a thousand jobs.
The Czech Republic will extradite to Ukraine Timur Tretyakov, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the murder-for-hire of Sazka’s driver and for the attempted murder of an Armenian businessman. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice, Vladimír Řepka, confirmed this to Nova TV. Nova reported that Tretyakov could join the fighting in Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression. According to the television, when the man leaves the Czech Republic depends on when Ukraine sends an escort for him.
According to the final judgment, Tretyakov set out to commit murder in Prague’s Vinohrady in November 2007. He was commissioned to take down a businessman who drove a luxury Bentley. Coincidentally, the driver of the director of the Sazka company stopped at the given place with another car of the same brand. Tretyakov shot the driver. In addition, two weeks earlier, Tretyakov attacked an Armenian businessman on Wenceslas Square, whom he stabbed nine times. A timely operation saved the life of the attacked foreigner.
In recent years, authorities in Russia have charged a number of Russian scientists with treason on suspicion of passing sensitive materials abroad. Kremlin critics say the arrests sometimes stem from unfounded paranoia, which authorities deny, Reuters noted. In total, according to the Vjorstka portal, Russian courts convicted 39 people of treason last year, compared to 16 a year earlier.
On Wednesday, the Russian Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal regarding Professor Valery Golubkin, who was sentenced to 12 years for treason. He sent the case to the Court of Appeal for a new assessment.