Overview
- A military court in Rostov-on-Don issued life terms for eight defendants after a closed trial on terrorism charges linked to the truck-bomb attack.
- The men were convicted of carrying out a terrorist act that caused deaths and of illegal arms offenses, with two additionally found guilty of smuggling explosives.
- Defendants denied involvement and said they cooperated with investigators, as Oleg Antipov insisted in court that no witnesses or evidence tied them to the plot.
- Memorial designated the group political prisoners, arguing the case materials and the men's cooperation undercut claims of links to Ukrainian intelligence.
- Ukraine’s SBU previously claimed responsibility for the operation, with chief Vasyl Malyuk describing explosives concealed in metal cylinders inside rolls of plastic film; the 2022 blast killed five and damaged sections of the bridge.