Two Russian treason and arson sentences on 21 May 2024

What did Russian courts and Russian missiles deliver in the days around 21 May 2024? A Saint Petersburg court sentenced Anatoly Maslov, a 77-year-old hypersonic missiles expert, to 14 years in prison for state treason on that date.

A day earlier, on 20 May 2024, a court in Novosibirsk sentenced a 24-year-old man to 25 years in prison. He was accused of plotting an arson attack on a military recruitment office, allegedly on directions from Ukraine.

The Novosibirsk case belongs to a wider pattern of attacks on Russian military commissariats, the registration and enlistment offices. As reported later, Molotov cocktail arson attacks and shootings hit such offices after the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, and other governmental buildings were also targeted in several Russian regions. The attacks were part of the Russian partisan and anti-war movements. They were spurred by the invasion, the deployment of conscripts to the front line, the start of spring conscription and rumours of a possible mobilisation, which were later found to be true.

Strikes in Kharkiv Oblast

The court rulings came as Russian strikes continued to hit Kharkiv Oblast. On 19 May 2024, at least six people were killed and 27 injured in a double-tap missile strike on a recreation area near Kharkiv. In a separate attack that day, a Russian multiple launch rocket system struck two villages in Kupiansk Raion, killing five people and injuring nine.

Together, the reports from 19 to 21 May 2024 show the war reaching into Russian courtrooms as well as Ukrainian communities.