The SBU and the National Police detained two 16-year-old arsonists of Defence Forces vehicles who were carrying out orders from Russian special services in Kyiv and Kramatorsk.
This was reported by the SBU press centre.
The criminals were ‘hunting’ for Armed Forces off-road vehicles equipped to perform combat missions on the front line. First, they found potential targets and coordinated them with their Russian handlers.
‘For a ‘report’ to the occupiers, the perpetrators filmed the fires on their phones, hoping for ‘easy money’. However, none of the arsonists received the promised money from the ruscists,’ the agency said in a statement.
In particular, in Kyiv, law enforcement officers detained a 16-year-old suspect who came from Cherkasy Region to commit a series of arson attacks on military vehicles in the capital.
For the ‘test’ task, the young man was supposed to burn an SUV that volunteers had purchased for one of the Armed Forces combat brigades fighting on the eastern front. SBU officers detained the offender in hot pursuit.
In Donetsk Region, the SBU and the National Police detained a resident of Kramatorsk who also wanted to ‘make money’ by setting fire to Defence Forces vehicles. Right after the first attempt to destroy the SUV of a Ukrainian soldier, the SBU detained the young man and seized arson tools from him.
Both men were served a notice of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces and other military formations during a special period).
The detainees face up to 8 years in prison.