Latvian citizen handed six years in prison for financing Russian military with €43 donation through Belarus

A Latvian woman, Polina Kamlyova, has been sentenced to six years in prison and three years of probation for her role in funding the Russian military. In October, Kamlyova was found guilty of transferring around 43 euros to a device aimed at disrupting FPV drones. Prosecutors stated she did not directly transfer the money, but instead, requested an acquaintance in Belarus to make the payment on her behalf, concealing the true purpose of the transaction.

The acquaintance in Belarus transferred 157 Belarusian rubles, equivalent to about 43 euros, to the Russian bank account of Kamlyova's acquaintance. Kamlyova protested her innocence, claiming she was unaware of the transaction's intent and had no knowledge of the funds flowing to the Russian military. She maintained that her communications with the Russian individual were private and that she was not involved in any war financing.

Kamlyova's phone was examined at the Latvian border following her return from Russia, where officials discovered the messages and subsequently began reading her private correspondence without her consent. The exact method of how Latvian authorities obtained the information remains undisclosed by law enforcement agencies. Kamlyova's background includes work at a garment factory and membership in the Latvian Russian Union, a political party catering to Latvia's Russian-speaking community. She contested for a position on the Rēzekne city council in 2017 as a candidate of the party.