Ukrainian Men Sentenced to Life Over Crimean Bridge Attack Plea for Clemency

Eight individuals sentenced to life imprisonment by Russian courts due to an attack on the bridge connecting Crimea and Russia made a collective appeal for their release on Tuesday, asserting they were unaware of the operation planned by Kyiv.

The explosion in 2022 resulted in the deaths of five people and caused significant damage to the Crimean Bridge, a structure erected after Russia’s annexation of the region from Ukraine in 2014, which has come to represent Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aspirations.

In 2023 and 2025, the bridge experienced two additional major assaults, both executed by Ukrainian forces as part of their efforts against Russia’s invasion.

Originating from Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia, the men requested that Putin, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky consider them in any negotiations regarding prisoner exchanges aimed at resolving the conflict.

Although incarcerated since last year, they have consistently maintained their innocence, describing themselves in their appeal for freedom as «eight ordinary individuals… who rise each day to earn a living, pay rent, and embrace their children.»

«Yet now we are labeled as ‘terrorists.’ We have been sentenced to life imprisonment, facing a slow and degrading demise in the confines of Russian prisons,» they stated in a letter released by the Russian human rights group Memorial.

Some of the accused were identified as having been involved in transporting construction supplies that were ultimately discovered to contain concealed explosives, but they have always claimed ignorance of this fact.

Human rights organizations have indicated they were merely fulfilling their regular job responsibilities, and Kyiv mentioned that they engaged individuals who were «unaware» of the operation.

The group includes a logistics company manager from St. Petersburg, as well as farmers and fruit vendors from occupied Ukraine, along with a truck driver.

During the sentencing in November, Oleg Antipov, a logistics and supply coordinator who arranged for a driver to transport materials to Crimea, declared: «We are innocent!»

In 2023, Vasyl Malyuk, who was then the head of Ukraine’s SBU, acknowledged that Kyiv had utilized «many people in the dark» for the attack, indicating that Moscow had detained individuals who were primarily involved in their normal everyday activities.

Among those appealing is Roman Solomko, a farmer from occupied Ukraine, who offered advice to a neighbor—possibly an SBU agent—on how to transport materials into Russia amidst Western sanctions. He maintained that he was unaware of any explosives present.

The group also consists of Vladimir Zlob, a fruit merchant; brothers Artyom and Georgy Azatyan, who owned a warehouse; Alexander Bylin, another vendor; and Armenian truck driver Artur Terchanyan, all of whom believed they were engaged in standard transportation logistics.