Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have announced the arrest of a group allegedly planning and executing arson attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine and European Union countries. According to statements from Ukraine’s National Police, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the suspects were working on orders from Russian special services.
The SBU reports that the main targets were shopping centers, gas stations, pharmacies, and markets in Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic countries. Several shopping centers in Poland and the Baltic states have previously been destroyed due to fires. The police also learned that the suspects were allegedly tasked with setting fire to a humanitarian aid center for Ukraine located in Poland.
According to the investigation, the group’s organizer is a 39-year-old resident of Ivano-Frankivsk. The SBU states that a total of 19 Ukrainians from different regions were involved in working for the Russian FSB security agency, including individuals from Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava oblasts, and Zaporizhzhia.
Law enforcement officials claim that the suspects recruited people for arson attacks on civilian objects in Ukraine and the EU for money, using their connections in criminal circles. To send the recruited arsonists abroad, the suspects allegedly created forged documents, including passports, driver’s licenses, diplomas, and medical cards issued in other people’s names.
The National Police reports that the Russian agents planned to illegally transport their accomplices outside of Ukraine and “legalize” them in EU countries. After the arsons, the perpetrators were supposed to record the fires on their phones to report back to the FSB.
Law enforcement conducted about 40 simultaneous searches in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava oblasts, and Kyiv at the residences and in the cars of the detainees. They seized weapons and ammunition, nine cars, $77,200, 500,000 hryvnias, bank cards, mobile phones, and rough notes. Forged vehicle registration documents, medical certificates, diplomas, and thousands of blank forms were also found.
All the detainees have been served with suspicions of treason and document forgery. If found guilty in court, they could face life imprisonment.
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