MOSCOW - A former director of Ukraine's defense enterprise Znamya, Yuriy Soloshenko, has been arrested in Moscow on suspicion of espionage, the press service of Moscow's Lefortovo Court reported on Feb. 6.
“On Feb. 3, the court decided to extend the custodial term of Soloshenko, charged under Article 276 (espionage) of the Russian Penal Code, until May 5, 2015,” court spokesperson Yulia Skotnikova told Interfax.
“This case is top secret,” she said.
Interfax has learned that Soloshenko is a citizen of Ukraine.
In an interview with Interfax, Soloshenko’s son, Alexander, confirmed his father’s arrest.
Alexander Soloshenko said that his father had been detained while buying equipment for the defense enterprise in Moscow in August 2014.
“Everyone knows that he was set up by his acquaintance, whom he trusted. They worked together. My father had been working in the defense industry for 50 years. He had connections. And even after he retired, different people asked him to help. The enterprise that he headed survived thanks to Russian orders. The Ukrainian government has not placed a single order with it since Ukraine gained independence [from the Soviet Union]. Neither we nor Russians had any secrets – it was a common system. And accusations of espionage are simply absurd. No one knows for sure why my father was detained. The only idea is that they need “spies” and “high-profile cases,” he said.
Russian human rights activists, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine have stepped in, but a Ukrainian counsel has not been allowed to visit Soloshenko, he said.
“The investigation is taking too long. The lawyer does not expect the trial to take place earlier than April or even June. We are all scared. On one hand, we want all this to end as soon as possible, but, on the other hand, we can hardly expect an acquittal. And if he is convicted of espionage, it would mean practically a death sentence. My father is 72 years old. He will not leave prison alive,” he said.
Yuriy Soloshenko retired in 2010 after heading the Znamya plant for 20 years.
The Znamya enterprise was a major producer of super-high frequency vacuum travelling valve tubes for missile defense systems. A decline in production and sales negatively impacted the plant’s finances, prompting the launch of its bankruptcy procedure in response to a lawsuit filed by the power supplier Poltavaoblenergo in 2001. In 2008-2009, the Ukrainian authorities tried to sell the enterprise, which declared bankruptcy in 2012.
