The Khamovniki court in Moscow decided to detain Nikolai Dzyaman, commander of the 138th anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who ordered the downing of an Il-76 carrying Ukrainian prisoners in 2024, for a period of 2 months.
He is accused of committing a crime under Art. 205, Art. 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (terrorist act)“, the case materials say.
The term is calculated from the moment of Dziaman's transfer to the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation in case of extradition or deportation to the territory of the Russian Federation, or from the moment of his detention on the territory of the Russian Federation.
On July 5, the press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported that the order to shoot down the Il-76 with Ukrainian prisoners in 2024 was given by the commander of the 138th anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Nikolai Dziaman. It was established that the plane was shot down with the help of an anti-aircraft missile from the Patriot air defense system. In cooperation with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, investigators have established that such systems are in service with the 138th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The servicemen who shot down the plane were carrying out an illegal order from the commander of the Dzyaman brigade and the high command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Investigative Committee told TASS.
In addition to the wanted commander, Russian investigators "continue to identify other accomplices in the crime", including senior military officials of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The Il-76M aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces was shot down in the Belgorod region on January 24, 2024 by an American Patriot missile system. On board were crew members and 65 Ukrainian servicemen who were transported for exchange. All died.
At the end of February this year, the Southern District Military Court sentenced Dziaman in absentia to life imprisonment, finding him guilty of committing a terrorist act that resulted in the deaths of 10 people, for his order to shoot down an A-50 long-range radar reconnaissance aircraft over the Kuban, which was patrolling Russian airspace, had no weapons, and was not intended for direct combat.