The Security Service of Ukraine, together with the National Police, neutralised a group of young men who had committed a series of arsons of military vehicles on the orders of the Russian FSB in Odesa.
This was reported by the SBU press centre.
Over the course of two weeks, the attackers attempted to destroy more than 15 military SUVs.
"As a result of a special operation, all members of the enemy cell were detained almost simultaneously in different parts of the city. They were six Odesa residents aged 18 to 24 who worked as couriers for a popular food delivery service. They came to the attention of the FSB as active users of Telegram channels looking for easy money, where they left their 'resumes'," the statement said.
In one of these chats, a representative of the Russian special service responded to the young men and offered money in exchange for the destruction of Ukrainian soldiers' vehicles.
The defendants mostly acted in pairs. For example, one would set fire to a car, while the other would film it. Working under the guise of a courier delivery, the defendants rode scooters around the city and identified the parking addresses of the Defence Forces vehicles. Then they would send photos of potential targets to their Russian supervisor for "approval", and after receiving the appropriate "command", they would set fire to the vehicles.
To "report" to the aggressor, the arsonists filmed their actions.
Russian accomplices were detained in hot pursuit. Homemade incendiary mixtures and mobile phones with evidence of the crimes were seized from them. All six suspects have been served a notice of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code (obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations).
The criminals are in custody. They face up to eight years in prison.