In the conditions of war, when Ukrainians are consolidating to fight against the Russian Federation, some individuals are looking for easy money, betraying their country. Ukrainian law enforcement officers are faced with a new threat: Russian special services are recruiting Ukrainians en masse, offering them to set fire to military vehicles and facilities of territorial procurement centers (TCC). This scheme, promising easy money, leads to tragic consequences for those involved, because instead of the promised fees, they receive long prison terms. The Security Service of Ukraine and the police work in a comprehensive manner to solve such arson.
On July 31, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officially announced the arrest of a 17-year-old resident of Odesa, who came to the attention of the FSB due to his search for easy earnings on the Internet. As it turned out, the young man posted his resume on one of the sites, to which a representative of the Russian special service responded. He offered the boy to set fire to military infrastructure facilities and cars of Ukrainian defenders for money.
After performing test tasks in the form of photo-fixing the locations of the Defense Forces in the port city, representatives of the Russian Federation “seconded” their accomplice to Vinnytsia region to set fire to the TCC building. After that, the young man had to continue a series of arson attacks on the territory of Zhytomyr. However, thanks to the concerted actions of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police, the boy was arrested “in hot pursuit” after he threw a “Molotov cocktail” at the wall of the TCC and filmed the fire on his phone’s camera. He is currently in custody, facing a life sentence.
Law enforcement officers about arson
Deputy head of the National Police, Andrii Nebitov, in his post on Facebook, shared details about the “kitchen” of this phenomenon. According to him, the Russian special services are running a bait, promising up to 80,000 hryvnias for each car set on fire. However, the reality is far from so attractive: most criminals receive little or no money at all. In addition, they face a long prison term for a crime against the state.
Nebytov gave several examples:
- Odesa: a previously convicted man set fire to a military car, receiving UAH 937 instead of the promised 80,000. Detained.
- Rivne: the attacker together with an accomplice deceived Russian employers by setting fire to the first best car, painting the license plate black. Instead of the promised 2 thousand dollars, I received 2 thousand hryvnias. Detained.
- Chornomorsk: they promised 10,000 hryvnias, but did not pay anything. Detained.
- Oleksandria: a 28-year-old woman destroyed a military man’s car, but she never received the promised 10,000 hryvnias. Detained.
According to Nebytov, the disclosure of such crimes is a priority for the criminal police, because they are aimed at hindering the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 7 months, 58 such cases were solved, 68 citizens were detained, all were declared suspicious.
“One wrong decision forever broke these people’s lives. Among those who agree to the offer of arson, there are teenagers, people who find themselves in financial difficulties, etc. In the pursuit of money, most do not understand that they are taking the side of the enemy and will answer for this according to the laws of wartime.
Each arson of a military vehicle is a direct blow to the defense capability of our country. Such actions not only harm materially, but also sow panic among military personnel and their families. We are making every effort to quickly identify and apprehend the perpetrators.” – comments Andrii Nebytov.
More comments from law enforcement officers
The commander of one of the units of the SBU, who participated in the detention, says:
“We work ahead of time, analyze information from various sources, including the Internet, in order to detect suspicious activity. Suspects are detained safely for civilians, because their actions pose a threat not only to military facilities, but also to the civilian population.”
The operational commissioner of the National Police, who participated in the operation, notes:
“Our task is to react as quickly as possible to any attempts at arson or other sabotage. Each case is investigated in detail in order to find the masterminds and stop such actions in the early stages.”
The head of the criminal police, Serhiy Kovalenko, believes:
“These crimes have a double effect: they not only cause material damage, but also demoralize our society. We are doing everything possible to apprehend the perpetrators and prevent similar cases in the future.”
National Police officer Dmytro Dyachenko notes:
“We understand that every case of arson can have serious consequences for the safety of our military and the civilian population. Therefore, we work in coordination with other law enforcement agencies to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes.”
“These are extremely insidious crimes designed not only to cause material damage, but also to undermine the morale of our military and society at large. We are working day and night to prevent these attacks and protect our people.” – believes the head of one operational department of the SBU.
