A man in Russia has been jailed for four years and sent to a penal colony after a security breach on Vladimir Putin's 'doomsday plane'.
Ordered to pay £36,400 in compensation, 27-year-old Zhora Khachunts, claims he was framed by authorities in a cover-up when the jet was interfered with in the Russian city Taganrog, on the Sea of Azov.
A reported 39 pieces of top secret radio equipment were swiped after the cargo hatch of the plane, the Ilyushin Il-80i, was left open when it was going through a refitting process.
Distraught at his sentence, Khachunts and his team claimed DNA and fingerprints were planted on the plane, while Zhora himself warned of self-harm.
According to his wife Elena, who described her husband as a "scapegoat", he said: "I'm tired.… I can’t [go on]. I'm just tired. I can do something [to harm] myself."
The taxi driver's lawyer disputes the allegations he was involved and claimed there were a number of gaps in the story of the Russian prosecutors.
She said: "The investigation did not explain in any way how Khachunts managed to get into the carefully guarded territory.
"The [prosecutors] simply state that it was done in an ‘unknown way’. The cameras didn't work at the time... The exact date and time of the theft has not been established, so we cannot provide a specific alibi."
The theft, described as an "emergency situation" by the Kremlin may have been down to the precious metals contained within the equipment such as gold and platinum.
Further statements from the lawyer indicate she was not allowed to cross-examine a 'secret witness' called against Khachunts.
She added: "It has not been established how the thief entered the territory of the airfield, how he removed the heavy parts, where they then disappeared.
"Moreover, in the case file there is no evidence of the existence of these details in principle."
The Ilyushin Il-80i is designed to be used if nuclear war breaks out with the West and is known as the 'Flying Kremlin'. Kitted out with high-tech equipment, it is essentially Putin's bunker in the sky.
Dubbed the doomsday plane due to the circumstances of its use, it was recently involved in rehearsals for the Russian Victory Day parade in May. Not seen since 2010, some took the involvement of the plane as a warning to the West as tensions arose thanks to Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
The 60-metre long, windowless plane reportedly had its first flight in 1987 and is believed to have a cruising speed of 530mph.
