A PARANOID Vladimir Putin has jailed a Russian schoolboy for "high treason" after accusing the anti-war youngster of spying.

       Kevin Lick, 18, will spend four years behind bars after he was convicted of sending military information to the “representative of a foreign state”.

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       Kevin Lick, now 18, was convicted of leaking military secrets to a foreigner when he was only 16 and 17 Credit: East2West 4

       Prosecutors allege that the jailed schoolboy supplied information on military infrastructure and troops Credit: East2West

       The teen allegedly committed spying offences “while disagreeing with the political course” of Russia and opposing Putin’s war against Ukraine.

       Lick was dragged out of school to be detained for at least six months before he was finally sentenced.

       The closed-doors trial in Russia’s remote Republic of Adygea claimed to have given him a lenient punishment owing to his young age, cooperation with the investigation and “sincere repentance”.

       However, Lick remains the youngest “spy” convicted of treason - and the only school student.

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       He was 16 and 17 when he committed most of the alleged offences, which the court claimed began before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.

       Critics question what secret information Lick could have supplied since addresses and photographs of military units in Maykop are publicly available on the Internet.

       The feared Russian FSB security service claimed Lick “visually observed” military facilities and equipment and took prohibited photographs.

       They argued that he supplied information, including on troop deployments, via e-mail to an unspecified "foreigner".

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       The verdict was handed down by the supreme court of the Adygea, a landlocked Russian region near the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

       A talented and bright student, Lick had studied at the Republican Science and Mathematics School in his hometown before he moved to a school in Moscow before his arrest.

       He had won the German language Olympiad in Adygea at least four times.

       Around the time of his arrest, his mother was also detained for alleged “minor hooliganism” and using obscene language.

       The FSB has recently detained a record number of people for alleged espionage and high treason.

       This includes a string of scientists - some in their 70s - accused of supplying hypersonic missile secrets to the West or China.

       Putin's henchmen are said to be engaged in a “spy mania” witch-hunt among leading aerospace academics.

       Six world-class hypersonic and laser scientists have been detained so far, one of whom died in custody.

       “They are starting to see enemies everywhere,” said one Western diplomat. "It feels like paranoia."

       Also among those detained on espionage charges is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

       The American, 32, was falsely jailed over bogus spy charges and has spent 278 days behind bars so far.

       He was arrested by the FSB on March 29 while on a reporting trip in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

       Russia continues to extend his pre-trial detention without providing any public evidence to back up their claims.

       Washington has repeatedly called the charges "ridiculous" and President Joe Biden branded Gershkovich's detention as "totally illegal".

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       The WSJ denies the charges and has called for his immediate release, as has his family.

       He is the first Western reporter to be jailed on espionage charges in Russia since the Soviet era, and he faces a prison term of up to 20 years if convicted.

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       The Supreme Court of Adygea where Kevin Lick was convicted of high treason Credit: East2West 4

       The prestigious Republican Science and Mathematics School in Adygea where he studied before moving to Moscow Credit: East2West