In the Odesa region, a former railroad worker was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sabotage

A court in the Odesa region sentenced a former railroad worker to 15 years in prison for setting fire to a critical railway facility—the man was carrying out orders from an unknown handler on Telegram in exchange for a promised payment.

The ruling was handed down by the Black Sea City Court in Odesa Oblast.

According to the case file, in late August 2025, the man received an offer of “easy money” via Telegram. An unknown contact promised to pay between $100 and $300 to set fire to battery and relay cabinets on the railroad.

To carry out the task, he bought an incendiary mixture at a gas station, and on the night of September 3, he went to a battery cabinet near the “Ksenievo–Odesa-Zakhidna” railway section, close to the village of Malodolynske. First, he broke the lock with a metal pipe, then set the cabinet on fire.

Before setting the fire, the man, following his handler’s instructions, taped a piece of paper with the inscription “415COC” to the door and filmed the entire process on his phone. As the court established, in their correspondence, the client demanded not only that the object be set on fire but also that a whole “set of instructions” be followed: to conduct a reconnaissance of the site, display the designated inscription, film the opening of the cabinet, the pouring of fuel, and at least 15 seconds of burning. Without such a video report, payment was not promised.

After the first arson, the perpetrator never received his payment. Instead, the client began demanding new acts of sabotage and suggested setting fire to a TCC vehicle.

In court, the defendant claimed that he had specifically chosen a cabinet that “didn’t beep” because he believed it was out of order. According to him, he wanted to deceive the client and later allegedly planned to contact the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and hand over all the correspondence.

However, the court did not accept this explanation. The judges noted that the man worked for the railroad and therefore was well aware of the purpose of such equipment.

In addition, there was a large warning label on the cabinet door regarding criminal liability for sabotage during martial law, which was also captured on video footage taken by the defendant himself.

During the search, law enforcement officers seized his phone. On it, they found photographs of the battery cabinet, a video of the arson, and Telegram messages. The messages indicated that the handler regularly demanded new arson attacks, sent detailed instructions, and reminded him that without a proper video recording, he would not be paid.

At the same time, the court did not agree with part of the indictment regarding the alleged theft of seven batteries from the battery cabinet. The judges concluded that there was no evidence of this, and that the batteries themselves were likely missing even before the arson.

Ukrzaliznytsia employees explained that the battery cabinet is part of the train traffic safety system and ensures the operation of traffic lights in the event of a power outage. That is why it is classified as critical infrastructure. Despite the arson, train service on this section continued uninterrupted.

The property damage from the fire was estimated at nearly 18,000 hryvnias. The defendant fully compensated for the damage while the case was still pending, but this did not affect the classification of his actions.

The court found the man guilty of sabotage, sentenced him to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property, and ordered the confiscation of the cell phone and flashlight used during the crime.

Ірина Глухова