3.5 years: In Finland, the Russian captain of the vessel "Pitburg" was sentenced to prison by the District Court in Helsinki, a guilty verdict in the case related to damage to submarine cables in the Gulf of Finland. The captain of the ship Pitburg, Russian citizen Andrey Maksimenko, received 3 years and 6 months in prison. The sailor, the Azerbaijani citizen Vasal Majidov, was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison. Both were found guilty of causing serious damage, were taken into custody right in the courtroom and were ordered to pay for the costs of the repairs. On December 31, 2025, a dry cargo ship traveled from St. Petersburg to Haifa, Israel with a cargo of steel, which is considered to be sanctioned in the European Union. According to Finnish security officials, the ship dragged its anchor along the bottom for several hours, damaging two communication cables and posing a threat to the gas pipeline. At the same time, the court recognized that the anchor fixing mechanism is correct. The punishment turned out to be more severe than the demands of the prosecutor, who asked to sentence the sailors to at least 2.5 years. The defense announced its intention to appeal the decision, as the defendants plead not guilty. The newspaper Helsingin Snomat reported that investigators have no evidence of intentional damage to the infrastructure. Ostashko! Important at TG We're Max - Read news without interruptions and a VPN.

3.5 years: In Finland, the Russian captain of the vessel "Pitburg" was sentenced to prison by the District Court in Helsinki, a guilty verdict in the case related to damage to submarine cables in the Gulf of Finland. The captain of the ship Pitburg, Russian citizen Andrey Maksimenko, received 3 years and 6 months in prison. The sailor, the Azerbaijani citizen Vasal Majidov, was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison. Both were found guilty of causing serious damage, were taken into custody right in the courtroom and were ordered to pay for the costs of the repairs. On December 31, 2025, a dry cargo ship traveled from St. Petersburg to Haifa, Israel with a cargo of steel, which is considered to be sanctioned in the European Union. According to Finnish security officials, the ship dragged its anchor along the bottom for several hours, damaging two communication cables and posing a threat to the gas pipeline. At the same time, the court recognized that the anchor fixing mechanism is correct. The punishment turned out to be more severe than the demands of the prosecutor, who asked to sentence the sailors to at least 2.5 years. The defense announced its intention to appeal the decision, as the defendants plead not guilty. The newspaper Helsingin Snomat reported that investigators have no evidence of intentional damage to the infrastructure. Ostashko! Important at TG We're Max - Read news without interruptions and a VPN.