Moscow court frees four truck drivers unwittingly used by Ukraine in 2025 ‘Operation Spiderweb’ drone attack on Russian military airfields
The Moscow City Court released four drivers whose trucks Ukrainian security services used to launch drones at Russian military airfields during Operation Spiderweb, Kommersant reported.
On September 16, the Moscow City Court released four truck drivers who unknowingly transported Ukrainian drones to Russian military airfields during Operation Spiderweb on June 1, 2025. The court dismissed an Investigative Committee request to keep the defendants, Andrey Merkuryev, Alexander Zaitsev, Mikhail Ryumin, and Sergey Kanurin, in detention.
The four are accused of carrying out a terrorist attack and transporting explosives as part of an organized group. Ukrainian security services claim the truckers were recruited by Artem and Ekaterina Timofeyev, a Ukrainian-born couple, to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia. The four drivers were allegedly unaware of the drones hidden in their trucks.
One driver, 62-year-old Vasily Pytikov, died in an explosion during the operation. The defendants insist they alerted authorities after the drones emerged and tried to stop them.
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