A saboteur from Mykolaiv avoided prison for setting fire to Ukrzaliznytsia facilities

In Mykolaiv, a man who set fire to Ukrzaliznytsia relay cabinets for money received a suspended sentence for sabotage. He reached a plea agreement with investigators.

The Ingulsky District Court of Mykolaiv handed down this sentence.

According to the case file, an unknown individual on the Telegram messaging app offered the man’s acquaintance money to set fire to Ukrzaliznytsia facilities—specifically relay cabinets and transformer substations that are of strategic importance to the state. He was promised money in return.

The man, in turn, offered the defendant—a Mykolaiv resident who was unaware of the true intent to commit sabotage—a reward to participate in setting fire to someone else’s property.

On the evening of March 25, 2025, the men purchased two liters of fuel at a gas station, walked along the railroad tracks to a relay cabinet in the Ingulsky District of Mykolaiv, doused it with fuel, and set it on fire. The defendant filmed the cabinet burning with his phone.

They sent the video to the client as proof of a job well done, and 4,100 UAH was deposited into the defendant’s bank card—they withdrew the money from an ATM and split it among themselves.

The next day, March 26, the men repeated the same act with another relay cabinet nearby—and again received 4,100 UAH for the “completed task.”

According to “Ukrzaliznytsia,” the arson did not cause any actual damage—only the cabinets’ paint finish was affected, and the equipment’s operation was not impacted.

The Ingulsky District Court of Mykolaiv classified the man’s actions as a completed attempt to intentionally damage another person’s property by arson.

On July 22, 2026, the prosecutor and the defendant entered into a plea agreement. The court approved the agreement and imposed a sentence of three years’ imprisonment, suspending the man’s sentence for a one-year probationary period.

In determining the sentence, the court took into account that the defendant “unconditionally admitted his guilt… sincerely repented of his actions,” had no prior convictions, and that no actual damage to property had been caused.

The court also ordered the confiscation, in favor of the state, of the cell phone the defendant used to record videos of the arson attacks, and ordered him to pay over 3,700 hryvnias in forensic examination costs.

Ірина Глухова