The defendants in the dock are Artem and Georgy Azatyan, Oleg Antipov, Alexander Bilyn, Vladimir Zloba, Dmitry Tyazhelikh, Roman Solomko and Artur Terchanyan. They are accused of committing a terrorist attack that led to the deaths of people, as well as illegal trafficking in explosives. Solomko and Terchanyan are additionally charged with smuggling explosive devices.
‘The kid, together with his accomplices, organised the manufacture of explosives disguised as a cargo of plastic construction film on the territory of Ukraine. Then the members of the criminal group delivered it to the bridge in a truck driven by a man who was unaware of their plans,’ – the statement said.
Earlier, the trial was postponed twice due to the failure to bring the defendants. The Kremlin has traditionally blamed Ukraine’s intelligence services for the explosion.