A Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has sentenced 77-year-old Crimean resident Vladimir Ananyev to 18 years in prison. He was found guilty of illegal arms trafficking and preparing a terrorist attack, according to Krym.Realii, citing the court's press service. Ananyev was accused of preparing an assassination attempt on Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea.

According to the sentence, Ananyev will spend four years in prison and the remainder of his sentence in a strict-regime penal colony. Mediazona reported that before the hearing, he stated that any real sentence would be a "death sentence" for him. The prosecution had requested 22 years in prison.