Case of arsonists sent to court in Odesa

Prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office have sent to court an indictment against three local residents on charges of committing sabotage.

This was reported by the press service of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

It has been established that in early 2025, one of the defendants contacted an employee of the Russian Federation's special services via a messenger. The latter offered the Odesa resident money for setting fire to railway facilities to destabilize train traffic in the city and region. The perpetrator agreed and recruited two more accomplices.

To fulfill the enemy's tasks, they set fire to 3 relay cabins on the stretch between Odesa-Skhidna and Odesa-Sortuvalna stations.

The attackers followed a clear scheme: they arrived at the facilities, poured flammable liquids on them, set them on fire and filmed a video to report to the customer. They were paid in cryptocurrency.

The saboteurs were two men aged 39 and 36 and a 30-year-old woman, who are currently in custody.

In March, law enforcement officers served suspicion notices to eight people accused of arson at the request of representatives of the Russian Federation. Among them were three residents of Odesa who tried to set fire to a traffic light relay cabinet at the Odesa-Skhidna railway station. Other members of the group, including a resident of Vinnytsia and two brothers from Kharkiv region, carried out similar sabotage: they set fire to relay cabinets and property of the Ukrainian military, and set fire to the village council building. They also filmed their actions. The suspects were charged with attempted sabotage, sabotage, intentional damage to property, and obstruction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In July, five members of an organized group responsible for 14 arson attacks in Odesa region were also detained. The sabotage was carried out against Ukrzaliznytsia facilities, the electric power industry, administrative buildings of government agencies and strategically important enterprises.

Кирило Бойко