Two Russians were sentenced to a year each in prison for posing on the Internet as renegade nuclear rocket commanders with plans to wipe out cities in Europe.

The two had posted messages claiming to be officers at a strategic rocket unit, driven to the edge by the harsh realities of post-Soviet life, who would launch a nuclear strike on European cities if their demands were not met, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The hoax triggered the alarm of the US FBI and police in Austria, which both asked Russia to investigate, Tass said.

The two were convicted under a statute that outlaws alarmist hoaxes causing material damage or danger to the public.