Resident of Mykolaiv detained in Odesa for setting fire to cars made to order

Odesa law enforcement officers have served a notice of suspicion on a man who set fire to a car for a monetary reward. He faces up to ten years in prison.

This was reported by the press service of the National Police in Odesa region.

Last week in the evening, the police received a report of a fire in a Toyota car parked near a high-rise building in the Prymorskyi district of Odesa. Rescuers were called to the scene and extinguished the fire, and investigators opened a criminal investigation into the intentional damage to property.

During the initial investigative measures, operatives of the Main Department of the National Police in Odesa region, together with officers of the Police No. 5, identified the arsonist. He was a 21-year-old resident of Mykolaiv who rented an apartment in Odesa.

The police found out that the man had agreed to set fire to other people's cars for UAH 1,000 at the signal of a stranger via a messenger. He bought a flammable liquid, set fire to the car of one of his neighbors, filmed the process to report to his supervisor and fled.

PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua

According to the press service, no one was injured in the car arson, but the 59-year-old Odesa resident's car body was damaged, and the damage is still being assessed. In less than half a day, the police detained the arsonist and seized material evidence for forensic examination.

The man was charged with Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - intentional damage to another's property by arson. The maximum sanction for this article is 10 years in prison. The court remanded the suspect in custody.

Also at the end of 2025, two teenagers from Odesa region were served with a notice of suspicion for organizing a series of car arsons. According to the investigation, they acted on an order, damaged several other people's cars and caused the owners more than UAH 2.5 million in losses. The customer identified himself as a collector and said he was ready to pay money for the destruction of cars of people who had debts.

Анна Бальчінос