To save Ternopil from drone attacks, student set fire to two cars: Russians had convinced him that there were transmitters in tyres. PHOTO
In Ternopil, a 19-year-old student set fire to two cars in a single night, believing he was helping to prevent Russian drone attacks. According to the investigation, the young man was recruited by Russian security services, who convinced him that devices for guiding attack drones had allegedly been installed in the cars’ wheels.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing the Ternopil regional police.
How a student was recruited via a dating site
According to law enforcement officials, it all began when the young man started chatting with a girl on a dating site. His virtual conversation partner asked him to send the geolocation of a restaurant.
Subsequently, the student received a phone call from an unknown man who introduced himself as a cyberpolice officer. He claimed that the young man’s new acquaintance was allegedly a Russian spy, and that the student himself had become an accomplice to a crime by sharing his geolocation.
Threatening him with criminal prosecution, the fake police officer forced the young man to follow his instructions.
In particular, the recruiter convinced the young man that certain cars had transmitters fitted to their wheels, which Russian agents were using to guide attack drones towards Ternopil.
The student agreed to destroy these allegedly dangerous devices and, on the recruiter’s instructions, purchased a flammable mixture.
Throughout, the recruiter maintained online contact with him, monitored his movements and specified exactly which cars were to be set alight.
He set fire to two cars in one night
The first target was a Renault Master parked in the courtyard of a block of flats in one of Ternopil’s neighbourhoods. The car’s owner put out the fire himself.
A few hours later, a Ford Transit caught fire nearby.
At both fire scenes, police found evidence of arson.
After analysing CCTV footage, the police identified the suspect. He turned out to be a 19-year-old resident of the Ternopil region, who is studying at one of the higher education institutions in the regional centre.
Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, the Cyber Police and the Security Service of Ukraine tracked the young man’s movements, located him and arrested him.
The student was charged under Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – the deliberate destruction or damage of property by arson.
The court ordered him to be remanded in custody. Under the charge brought against him, the young man faces up to ten years’ imprisonment.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under the procedural supervision of the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
- Law enforcement officials emphasise that Russian special services are increasingly using dating sites and social media for recruitment, and are posing as law enforcement officers in order to coerce people into carrying out criminal tasks through blackmail and intimidation.
