# Finnish court sentences Russian captain to 3.5 years for deliberately damaging Gulf of Finland cables

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/finnish-court-sentences-russian-captain-to-3-5-years-for-deliberately-damaging-gulf-of-finland-cables/
- Published: 2026-11-05T18:15:14+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T18:41:52+00:00
- Original publisher: Meduza
- Original article: https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/11/05/finnish-court-sentences-russian-captain-to-3-5-years-for-deliberately-damaging-gulf-of-finland-cables
- Topics: Europe, World

## Key points

- The Fitburg captain received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
- The boatswain was sentenced to two years and 10 months.
- The ship dragged its anchor for about 130 kilometres, damaging cables.

## Summary

A Helsinki court sentenced Fitburg captain Andrei Maksimenko to three years and six months in prison for deliberately damaging undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland. The ruling matters amid repeated damage to Baltic infrastructure and regional concerns about the security of undersea links.

The court also sentenced boatswain Vusal Majidov to two years and 10 months, and ordered both men to pay for repairs. The Fitburg was travelling from St Petersburg to Israel in late 2025 when it dragged its anchor for about 130 kilometres, damaging cables between Finland and Estonia; Finnish authorities detained the ship.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.