Set car alight and reported back to his handler in Russian Federation via video: student has been detained in Ivano-Frankivsk. PHOTOS
In Ivano-Frankivsk, police officers, working alongside staff from the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), have arrested a 20-year-old student suspected of setting fire to cars on the orders of the Russian secret services.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing the National Police of Ukraine.
The 20-year-old student was arrested near the scene of the latest arson attack
On the night of 15 November, police detained the young man near the scene of a car arson attack in Ivano-Frankivsk. According to the investigation, he was acting on the instructions of a Russian handler, who promised him money for carrying out the tasks. Investigators informed the man that he was suspected of setting fire to three cars. In addition, the police have provisionally established his involvement in the arson attack on a car belonging to a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman.
Over three consecutive nights, four cars were set alight in the regional capital. On the night of 13 November, an Audi and a Jeep Compass were damaged in an arson attack on Karpatska Street. On the night of 14 November, a Volkswagen Transporter was set alight on Pivdennyi Boulevard. And on 15 November, at around 03:50, the police received a report of a Volkswagen Touareg catching fire in a courtyard on Naberezhna Street. Two other cars were also damaged as a result of the fire.
Following the first reports of the arson attacks, law enforcement officers focused their efforts on identifying those involved in the crimes. Operatives from the Criminal Investigation Department, staff from the regional police’s criminal analysis unit, and officers from the Ivano-Frankivsk District Police Department were all involved in the search. As a result of joint operational measures carried out with staff from the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the police identified the suspect. He was arrested that same night near the scene of the arson on Naberezhna Street.
The young man filmed the arson attacks on video and sent the recordings to the person who commissioned them
Investigators established that the student had come across an advert for ‘easy’ money in one of his social media groups. He was offered money to set fire to cars. To confirm that he had carried out the tasks, the young man filmed each arson attack and sent the footage to his handler via a messaging app. During a search of his mobile phone, law enforcement officers discovered video recordings of the arson attacks.
During an urgent search of the suspect’s residence, police seized clothing and footwear which, according to the investigation, he had used during the arson attacks, as well as other material evidence.
Under the procedural guidance of the Ivano-Frankivsk District Prosecutor’s Office, investigators notified the man that he was suspected of offences under Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in connection with the arson attacks on an Audi, a Jeep Compass and a Volkswagen Touareg. The penalty under this article provides for imprisonment for a term of up to ten years.
Separately, the police are investigating the suspect’s involvement in the arson attack on a Volkswagen Transporter belonging to a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A pre-trial investigation into this incident is ongoing under Part 1 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Warning from the police
- Russian special services are recruiting arsonists under the guise of offers of ‘easy money’.
- If you are offered money via a messaging app or on social media to set a car alight or carry out another unlawful task, save the correspondence and immediately report it to the police by dialling 102.
- In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime and may not be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt has been proven in accordance with the law and established by a court conviction.
