THE glam wife of an alleged Russian spy is facing 25 years behind bars in Vladimir Putin’s gulag after “funding a sabotage attack in Russia”.
Viktoria Shinkaruk, 28, is accused of acting as a Ukrainian agent by dead-dropping £885 in a supermarket litter bin “for use by terrorists” working for Kyiv.
East2WestViktoria Shinkaruk is facing up to 25 years in prison[/caption]
East2WestThe former Russian official from Belgorod region is pictured at the 2nd Western District Military Court of Moscow[/caption]
East2WestShe is accused of acting as a Ukrainian agent to allegedly aid ‘terrorists working for Kyiv’[/caption]
East2WestShinkaruk pictured being led by cops in court[/caption]
Russian official Shinkaruk denies the allegations, saying she withdrew the cash at her husband’s request and earned a small commission for it.
She claimed she didn’t know what the money was for and had no intention to commit a terrorist crime.
Her husband Evgeny Kisel, 35, had earlier escaped house arrest and fled to his relatives in Ukraine fearing a ten year jail sentence on drug charges.
Shinkaruk is now facing trial by a Moscow military court under Russia’s draconian new terrorism laws and could be jailed for a quarter of a century if convicted.
She was seen handcuffed to a female police officer arriving in court.
Russian law enforcement sources said Shinkaruk “took part in a terrorist community with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack,” state news agency TASS reports.
The 28-year-old, who often took glam snaps of herself, was a state inspector in the Ukraine-bordering region of Belgorod until she was fired after her arrest.
Shinkaruk has since been held in custody in the notorious Lefortovo pretrial detention centre for 22 months awaiting the start of her court case.
Her family and friend say she was following instructions from her husband in moving the money – but no mercy is expected from the court.
East2WestShinkaruk pictured with her husband Evgeny Kisel, 35[/caption]
East2WestThe 28-year-old denied the allegations against her[/caption]
East2WestShe has been awaiting her trial in the notorious Lefortovo pretrial detention centre for almost two years[/caption]
A pal said: “I don’t believe that she could do anything against the country.
“She is a really smart girl, very attractive, during all the time we talked, I never heard her make any dubious statements.
“She loves our country.”
A relative added: “She would not have deliberately gone against Russia, I am sure.
“She is a calm, level-headed person, not crazy.
“I think her husband set her up with the transfer of the money. She simply believed his words.
“They have been married for about six years. He is still her husband.”
Another friend said: “I think her husband brainwashed her that this money would supposedly help him avoid a criminal case.
“She was a fool, and just wanted to help.
“Now she can lose her youth, the opportunity to start a family [by being locked up in jail].”
Shinkaruk’s co-accused Alexander Kholodkov allegedly more than £3,300 also at the request of Shinkaruk’s husband.
He dropped it in the same litter bin in Belgorod city and “moved explosive devices to hiding places”, it is alleged.
East2WestAlexander Kholodkov being led by Russian officials[/caption]
East2WestShinkaruk and Kholodkov cover their faces as they sit in court[/caption]
Russian authorities claim that the money was intended for unknown members of a criminal group to carry out a terrorist bomb attack in the first months of the war.
According to TASS, “they used the Signal and Telegram messenger apps to communicate with handlers from Ukraine.
“Following their instructions, Kholodkov placed explosives and cash needed to carry out a terrorist attack in hiding places.”
But after two years of investigations, prosecutors failed to name the alleged saboteurs or the Ukrainian handlers and identify where the supposed terrorist attack was meant to take place.
Shinkaruk and Kholodkov are accused of illegal explosive trafficking, smuggling, terrorist involvement, conspiracy preparation, and illegal explosive manufacturing.
Russia portrays sabotage attacks by Ukraine in Russia as terrorism, despite Moscow being behind the brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
GettyVladimir Putin increasing spy paranoia is rooted in his background as a KGB officer[/caption]
MAD VLAD’S SPY MANIA
Spy maniac Putin has a deep-seated obsession with espionage, secrecy, and counterintelligence, which has profoundly influenced his leadership style and decision-making, especially during wartime.
Mad Vlad’s paranoia is rooted in his background as a KGB officer, where he developed a worldview dominated by suspicion and the belief that deception is a necessary tool in statecraft.
Over the years, this has led to a culture of mistrust within the Russian government, where the tyrant surrounds himself with loyalists, particularly those from security or intelligence backgrounds, reinforcing a tightly controlled and secretive regime.
Putin’s obsession with espionage has seen a focus on sabotage and cyberattacks against Ukraine, alongside a heightened fear of Western espionage.
This paranoia has driven efforts to insulate Russia from external influences, including limiting access to Western technology and tightening internet control.
The ageing dictator previously arrested at least 12 leading hypersonic missile scientists on suspicion of “high treason”.
The despot’s henchmen had been busy purging top aerospace and rocket experts over fears they were leaking secrets to Nato.
Russia in March charged another professor, Dr Alexander Kuranov, 76, with “high treason” and announced his trial would go ahead.
He was the latest in a list of over a dozen hypersonic scientists – many of whom are elderly – arrested in the past six years by Putin‘s feared security service, the brutal FSB.
Putin – terrified of traitors – appears to be hellbent on seeking to silence those who know the most about his most secret weapon projects.
The trials have been shrouded in secrecy and evidence against the defendants has not been made public.
In July 2022, laser scientist Dmitry Kolker, 54, was hauled from his cancer hospital bed in Siberia and locked away in notorious Lefortovo jail in Moscow, where he died two days later.
He was one of two leading academics accused of being in a Chinese spy ring by the FSB.
Professor Anatoly Maslov, 75, a pioneer of hypersonic technologies, was also arrested and remains in the Lefortovo prison in Moscow.
In May, 2023, Dr Valery Zvegintsev, 78, was arrested following Ukraine’s downing of what Putin had branded his “unstoppable” weapons, humiliating the tyrant.
In October, 2023, Professor Anatoly Gubanov, 66, one of the world’s top rocket academics was sentenced to 12 years in prison over claims he passed secrets to Nato.
It came four months after one of his pals, Valery Golubkin, 70, was jailed for 12 years.
In December, 2023, Russia jailed Prof Vladislav Galkin, 68, on suspicion of “high treason” – as part of the same ongoing probe.
East2WestDr Alexander Kuranov is the latest in a long list charged with ‘high treason’[/caption]
East2WestRussia announced the physicist’s trial would go ahead as spy mania grips the Kremlin[/caption]