The wife of a suspected spy who worked for Ukraine in Russia is facing a 25-year sentence behind bars in one of the country's maximum security prisons.
The stunningly beautiful 28-year-old Viktoria Shinkaruk is accused of financing a sabotage attack in Russia by acting as a Ukrainian agent. The Russians claim she threw around 1,000 euros into a supermarket bin, money that was to be used by terrorists working for Kiev.
Shinkaruk denies the allegations, saying she withdrew the money at her husband's request and earned a small commission for it. She claimed she did not know what the money would be used for and had no intention of committing a terrorist crime.
Shinkaruk is expected to be sentenced by a military court in Moscow under draconian new terrorism laws that Russia has introduced.
The 28-year-old, who was also known as an influencer with images posted on social networks, also served as a state inspector in the border region with Ukraine, Belgorod, until she was fired after her arrest. Shinkaruk has since been detained in the notorious Lefortovo detention center for 22 months.
Her family and friend say she was following her husband's instructions in the money transaction, but their evidence is not expected to be taken into account by the court.
"I don't believe she can do anything against Russia. She is a very smart, very attractive girl, in all the time we have been talking I have never heard her make any questionable statements. She loves our country," said a relative of the 28-year-old.
Meanwhile, her husband Evgeny Kisel has fled to his relatives in Ukraine, fearing a 10-year prison sentence on drug charges.