On the dock is Russian captain Andrey Maximенко and the bosun, a citizen of Azerbaijan. The prosecution is seeking at least 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment for each. The investigation claims that on December 31, 2025, the Fitburg, which was traveling from St. Petersburg, dragged a damaged anchor along the seabed for at least 130 kilometers, damaging two telecommunications cables between Finland and Estonia. According to the prosecutor, the incident posed a serious threat to the operation of electrical and gas networks as well. The statement from the Russian captain himself is particularly interesting. He completely denies guilt and claims that the version of a Russian hybrid attack is "nonsense." The defense insists that the anchor was defective and that there was no intentional sabotage. A representative of the Russian embassy is present in the courtroom. This is the first trial regarding one of the most notable episodes of damage to the underwater infrastructure of the Baltic Sea in recent months. Earlier, Finnish police reported that the crew of the Fitburg consisted of citizens from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.
