Law enforcers detain a group of arsonists of railway property in Odesa region

Police and the Security Service of Ukraine have detained a group of young men in Odesa region who are suspected of setting fire to Ukrzaliznytsia facilities on the orders of Russian special services.

According to the police, a representative of the enemy special services recruited a 20-year-old resident of Odesa who was looking for money on the Internet.

Burned relay cabinets. Photo: National Police

He was offered a monetary reward to set fire to relay cabinets of auto-blocking and substations in the Odesa region. The young man agreed and involved two other acquaintances aged 24 and 20 from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district in the illegal activity. Since August, the accomplices have managed to damage eight relay cabinets.

Photo: National Police

Law enforcement officers conducted searches at the suspects' residences and seized material evidence confirming their involvement in the crimes, including cell phones with correspondence with the so-called curator, videos of the arson sites that they sent to him to confirm the order.

At present, investigators under the procedural supervision of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office have served all three young men a notice of suspicion of attempted sabotage committed by a group of persons under martial law (Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 113 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). This crime is punishable by up to fifteen years in prison or life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The Security Service of Ukraine noted that similar operations were also conducted in Dnipropetrovs'k and Cherkasy regions.

In September, a court sentenced a young man who set fire to military-looking vehicles for money. The young man's father turned out to be a combatant. Earlier in Odesa, law enforcement officers detained teenagers who had been recruited by Russian special services for sabotage. In Odesa, police detained two teenagers, aged 13 and 16, who set two cars on fire. They were caught along with two friends, aged 16 and 18, while trying to set another car on fire. The boys now face up to 15 years in prison.

Кирило Бойко