S-300 theft fail: Pole jailed for 14 years after attempting to steal Russian missile system parts

A Polish national, caught red-handed trying to steal classified parts of the S-300 missile system for a Polish supplier, has been tried and convicted in a Moscow court on charges of espionage.

Marian Radzajewski was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in a “strict regime colony,” Moscow City Court announced in a press release Tuesday. The trial itself was closed to the public as it involved materials the Russian government considers confidential.

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The man was contracted by a leading Polish military supplier to steal the parts and export them back to his home country, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The Russian officials say he was apprehended while attempting to go through with the deal.

At the beginning of March, President Vladimir Putin said that “129 staff members and 465 agents of foreign special services were foiled” in Russia in 2018 alone.

The Soviet-made precursor to the S-400 still enjoys wide-use in over a dozen countries, including North Korea, Venezuela and Iran. Meanwhile, sales of the S-400 to Turkey and India continue to make headlines and drive a wedge between Washington and its allies with the US insisting they should halt their deals with Russia.

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