BRYANSK, February 2. /TASS/. A Ukrainian man has been detained for carrying a device belonging to a Russian Osa mobile air defense missile system on a train, Russia’s customs officers said on Friday.
The pulsed magnetron of the system’s radio technical equipment was found in the luggage of the suspect, who was traveling on a Moscow-Chisinau train. This device, which is mounted on the vehicle’s radar, may be taken abroad only with the permission of Russia’s authorities.
"During customs checks of passengers’ luggage on the Moscow-Chisinau train, Bryansk customs officers found that a Ukrainian citizen was illegally carrying an item of the Osa-AKM missile system," the press service said.
The Ukrainian is facing up to seven years behind bars for stealing military equipment.
The Osa system was put into service in the 1970s. Its purpose is to provide cover for the motorized infantry and armored units. It is equipped with six missiles and can intercept targets at altitudes of up to six kilometers. The Russian army has several hundred such systems in operation.
This is not the first time when Ukrainian citizens have tried to make off with Russia’s military equipment. Earlier, the Bryansk customs officers reported about attempts to smuggle into Ukraine chassis disks from a MiG-29 fighter jet, brake rotors for a MiG-21 aircraft, electronics for indicators of cockpit windscreen on military planes, infrared imagers, night-sights and other devices.