Ukrainian Gets Six-Year Prison Term In Russia For Spying

A court in Moscow has sentenced a former defense factory chief from Ukraine to six years in prison on espionage charges.

The Moscow City Court on October 14 found Yuri Soloshenko, the 73-year-old former head of the Znamya electronics plant in Poltava, guilty of spying after a trial behind closed doors.

The Russian Federal Security Service said that Soloshenko was arrested in Moscow in August 2014 while trying to buy secret components for the S-300 air-defense missile system.

Both Russia and Ukraine have the Soviet-designed weapon in their arsenals.

Soloshenko did not appeal the court's verdict and will remain in pretrial detention until his sentence takes effect.

Russia has seen an unprecedented number of espionage and treason cases reach trial over the past year amidst its tug-of-war with Ukraine.

Just last week, a court in western Russia sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for allegedly spying for Ukraine.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and TASS