A Russian national, Margarita Reutt, 32, has been detained for two months in Sevastopol, Crimea, on charges of terrorism resulting in death. Reutt is accused of assassinating Robert Shageev, a former high-ranking officer in Ukraine's Black Sea Fleet who had defected to Russia in 2014.
Reports indicate that Shageev died in an explosion in the Russian-occupied naval port when a bomb, allegedly planted by Reutt in a garbage bin, detonated. Shageev was identified as the commander of Ukraine's only submarine, the Zaporizhzhia, before his defection. Following his move to Russia, he reportedly assumed a senior role within the Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet, with suggestions that he commanded a brigade responsible for missile strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
Margarita Reutt, a Russian citizen who had previously expressed criticism of Russia's war in Ukraine, faces up to 20 years in prison for the terrorism charge, with potential for the sentence to increase to 30 years if additional charges are brought. According to Russian media, Reutt refused to show remorse during interrogation by the FSB security service. She reportedly planned to flee the country after the attack.
Reutt's background includes running a failed travel agency and working as a biologist involved in the production of vaginal suppositories. She has also been linked to escort websites. Her recruitment by Ukrainian intelligence and the details of her alleged involvement remain unclear. In the past, Reutt was reportedly heard expressing shame about being Russian and solidarity with Ukraine following a drone attack on a Russian railway station.
The victim, Robert Shageev, was described as a "traitor" by Ukraine. A female friend of Shageev, who witnessed the aftermath of the blast in a residential area of Sevastopol, expressed shock and grief, lamenting the "terrible times" brought about by the conflict. She noted that this was the second such attack in her neighborhood within 18 months and highlighted the impact on Shageev's family.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine has officially commented on the victim or the incident. The Leninsky Court in Sevastopol ordered Reutt's detention pending further investigation by the FSB.