The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and National Police detained four accomplices of Russian special services who were committing arson in Zaporizhzhia and Kropyvnytskyi. Additionally, the police detained a Kyivan whom Russia hired to burn a police car.
SBU says the priority targets for those detained in Zaporizhzhia and Kropyvnytskyi were service SUVs of the Defense Forces and relay cabinets at Ukrzaliznytsia facilities. Russian handlers remotely formed two groups of arsonists, which included three minors, as per SBU. For monetary “rewards,” those reportedly first sought out potential targets and then attempted to destroy them using flammable mixtures.
In Zaporizhzhia, two local residents were detained for setting fire to several military pickups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that were undergoing maintenance after completing combat missions at the front. SBU says the perpetrators later received a new “order” from Russia to destroy relay cabinets of Ukrzaliznytsia’s signaling installations to disrupt the logistics of the Defense Forces in southern Ukraine.
In Kropyvnytskyi, a 41-year-old former engineer and his stepson were arrested for allegedly attempting to burn two military vehicles, including a minibus used to transport Armed Forces personnel.
The detainees have been notified of suspicion under Article 114-1 Part 1 (obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations by a group of persons by prior conspiracy) and Article 194 Part 2 (intentional destruction or damage to property committed by arson, explosion, or other generally dangerous method) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They face up to 8 years in prison.
In Kyiv, law enforcement detained a man accused of setting fire to two police cars for $6,000, as reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General. He allegedly rented an apartment near a police station, ordered flammable liquid online, and set the cars ablaze on 26 August, recording the act.
Later, he reportedly moved from his rented apartment to a hostel and waited for the arsonist to transfer the promised money to his card. However, he was never paid.
The suspect faces up to 10 years in prison for property damage.
Related:
- Kyiv resident, 16, reportedly recruited by Russia arrested for plotting arson on Ukrainian military vehicles
- Alleged FSB agent in Odesa detained over railway, military arson plots
- Suspected Russian saboteur faces life imprisonment for railway plot in Kyiv
- Moscow-backed church’s priest accused of spying for Russian military intel in Kharkiv Oblast
- Six Odesa residents arrested for burning military cars on Russian orders
- Kremlin intensifies sabotage and propaganda in the West ahead of EU elections
