A man accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Stavropol has been convicted in Rostov-on-Don.

The Southern District Military Court sentenced Andrei Balashov to 15 years in a maximum-security prison colony, accused of treason and preparing a terrorist attack in Stavropol Krai.

The Rostov-on-Don Military Court has been hearing Andrei Balashov's case since March 2025. He was charged with treason, preparing a terrorist attack (Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code and Part 2 of Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code, which carry a sentence of twelve to twenty years in prison), and the illegal manufacture of explosive devices (Part 3 of Article 223.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, which carries a sentence of fifteen to twenty years in prison).

According to the prosecution, on October 22, 2023, Balashov entered into correspondence with a representative of the Ukrainian special services and the following day expressed his willingness to carry out their instructions. According to security officials, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) planned to carry out an explosion in Russia with the participation of Balashov and certain other individuals as part of an "organized group."

The court established that Balashov was required to travel to Stavropol Krai and rent a home there in which to manufacture and store an improvised explosive device. He was tasked with gathering information "on objects of interest to the SBU" and selecting a location for the attack. He was also required to independently acquire the components for the bomb and subsequently detonate it.

According to the verdict, on November 25, 2023, Balashov traveled to Georgievsk and rented part of a house. Over the next month, until December 23, he inspected and photographed military unit warehouses and railway infrastructure facilities located in and around Georgievsk on his mobile phone. This information was then passed on to an SBU officer.

The man purchased components for an explosive device from various retail outlets in the city between December 18 and 20 and was awaiting instructions on who to deliver them to for the manufacture of two explosive devices. He was expected to subsequently receive the finished bombs for the attack, but on December 23, security forces detained Balashov, the press service of the Southern District Military Court reported on March 24.

The court sentenced Andrei Balashov to 15 years in a maximum-security penal colony and a fine of 500,000 rubles. Caucasian Knot has not yet received any comments from the defendant or his lawyer regarding plans to appeal the sentence.

Andrei Balashov is a native of Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. He turned 50 in December, according to his entry in the Rosfinmonitoring register of terrorists and extremists. His details were added to the list more than a year before the case was sent to court, on January 10, 2024, according to a message from a Telegram bot used to track list updates.

Balashov is a resident of the Novgorod region, Interfax reports. He worked in cargo transportation and was raising two children, according to the human rights project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial"*.

According to Balashov's common-law wife, Ekaterina Ragulina, he went to the Rostov region to earn money, where he was offered rotational work. She later learned from a lawyer that he was accused of attempting to blow up a fuel tanker in the village of Grachevka in Stavropol, as reported by the Samara news portal Zasekin.Ru in January 2024.

Ragulina expressed confidence that her husband would not have participated in the preparation of a terrorist attack. She also reported that a state-owned lawyer was handling Balashov's case because the family didn't have the money to hire a defense attorney.

* are included in the Russian register of foreign agents.

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