The Security Service and the National Police detained a group of criminals in Dnipro who had set fire to a military vehicle on Russia's order and were preparing a series of new arson attacks. The four suspects include two 17-year-olds.
They came to Russia's attention because they were looking for easy money on telegram channels. The curator gave the order to set fire to the military vehicles, the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office said.
According to police, the suspects committed the first arson on 10 June.
"The crime took place on the night of 10 June near a service station in Dnipro. The police found that the arson set fire to a Volkswagen minibus belonging to the military," police said.
The four attackers were specifically looking for military vehicles in the city. They had to coordinate the received coordinates and targets for arson with their Russian handler.
For the destruction of one Ukrainian military vehicle, the racists promised the young men a $3,000 "reward".
To disguise the transactions, the money was to be transferred to a bank card issued to a straw man.
In addition, another hostile task was to spread inscriptions on city buildings discrediting the TRC employees to create a picture for Russian propagandists of the "anti-Ukrainian underground".
During the searches, the detainees' mobile phones, ingredients for a homemade incendiary mixture and a bank card with Russian money on it were seized.
"At present, the detainees have been served a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional destruction or damage to property). The offenders are in custody. The issue of additional classification of their criminal actions is being settled. The operation was conducted by the SBU in Dnipro Region jointly with the National Police under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor's Office," the SBU said.