Harju County Court in Tallinn sentenced 43-year-old resident of the Pskov region, trucker and singer Vladimir Shilov to 4 months in prison for buying drones for the Russian army fighting in Ukraine and trying to smuggle them across the border.
Shilov was arrested on May 28 while trying to smuggle quadcopters bought in Estonia across the border to the 76th division in Pskov. He collected money for them on VKontakte, and published a photo of the equipment there a few hours before crossing the border.
Since February 24, the trucker has been actively and aggressively supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine in videos and posts on VKontakte and looking for “traitors to the motherland” among truckers.
“I am against the war, but I am for my country, I am for our president, he calculated everything – do not send me any videos that everything is bad with the Russian army. We are raising money for quadrocopters for our paratroopers. In principle, our army is provided, but frankly, we don’t have everything in Russia, such equipment is super fashionable, like that of NATO, for example. If we save at least one life, then I think no one will regret the money sent, “Shilov said.
The court in Tallinn considered his actions as deliberate and direct assistance to an act of aggression by a foreign state. As a punishment, Shilov was sentenced to one year in prison: four months must be served in prison immediately, the rest can be written off if he does not commit a new intentional crime within four years.
Drones purchased for the Russian army from a trucker were confiscated. He must also pay a total of EUR 1,632.60 in procedural costs.
Shilova’s bride Oksana Tightly refused to comment on the SeverRealii correspondent’s sentence to the groom and, after questions from the press, closed her page, changed her name and profile picture. Prior to that, she spent a month on VKontakte collecting money to pay for the services of a lawyer for Shilov.
In addition to Shilov, a court in Tallinn sentenced two Estonian citizens to five months in prison for donating money to a truck driver for drones for the Russian army. They were found guilty of aiding and abetting a foreign act of aggression and sentenced to five months in prison. The term will not have to be served if they do not commit an intentional crime within a year and eight months of probation.
- Vladimir Shilov is a popular cover artist in the Pskov region. He regularly gives concerts in rural and urban clubs, where he performs patriotic songs by Gazmanov, the Lyube group, as well as hits by Yuri Shatunov, Stas Mikhailov, Soso Pavliashvili, Alexander Marshal and others.
Photo:Vladimir Shilov
Source: Radio Free Europe