A Russian military court sentenced Vadim Chaly, a 30-year-old Kyiv native, to 16 years in prison for attempting to send explosive packages to senior Russian military officials, Russian-state media reported on April 10.
Chaly, who pleaded guilty and asked for leniency due to his mother’s health issues, will serve the first three years in prison and the rest in a strict-regime penal colony.
He was also fined 500,000 rubles ($5,900) and will face two additional years of freedom restrictions after his release.
Prosecutors alleged that Chaly was recruited by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) through the online platform Avito, where he was reportedly promised small payments for mailing explosives to Russian colonels.
“After completing test assignments, they (SBU) promised him one thousand rubles for sending explosive packages to three Russian colonels,” the investigation materials, obtained by Russian state-controlled news agency TASS, claim. “For the last package, they promised 4,000 rubles.”
None of the three packages reportedly detonated.
The criminal case was opened in June 2024, and Chaly had been living in Russia at the time of his arrest.
The case comes amid a broader crackdown in Russia, where authorities have intensified arrests, prosecutions, and lengthy prison sentences since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Olena Goncharova
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