Teenagers on the instructions of a Russian agent created a series of sabotage acts in Odesa

Three young men accused of sabotage in favor of the FSB are on trial in Odesa. The investigation believes that they acted on orders from Russian supervisors and received tasks via Telegram.

This is stated in the decision of the Peresypskyi District Court of Odesa.

A criminal case is being considered in Odesa: three local residents, including minors, are in the dock for arson attacks on military and critical infrastructure. According to the investigation, Russian special services were behind these actions.

It all started with a fire on Mechnikova Street. On the night of April 26, 2024, a National Guard truck caught fire. The investigation established that it was arson: the suspects, according to the case file, threw bottles of gasoline under the vehicle, which they had brought in a package.

The next episode occurred on May 14: on M. Hefta Street, they tried to burn a relay cabinet of the railway equipment that ensures the operation of the station. According to the investigation, the perpetrators were again the accused - a bottle of incendiary mixture was planted late in the evening, but the fire was quickly extinguished. On the night of May 21, they set fire to a Toyota car in another part of the city. They did not have time to set fire to another car on Mykhailivska Street: the police intervened.

The investigation claims that all the episodes were based on the same scheme: first, the teenagers received tasks from unidentified persons via Telegram, prepared bottles of gasoline, and acted as a group. Some of the perpetrators were minors, and some of them had not yet reached the age of criminal responsibility. The adult defendant was in charge of the group's actions - it was his phone that sent photos and video reports after the arsons.

According to law enforcement, the criminal group acted on instructions from abroad. The investigation directly points to coordination through the FSB or other Russian structures, whose goal was to "destabilize the situation in Odesa during martial law, cause panic and influence the work of the authorities."

As a result of a series of arson attacks, the city suffered at least UAH 1.5 million in damage.

All three are charged under several articles of the Criminal Code: intentional destruction of property by arson (Article 194(2)), sabotage (Article 113(2)), participation in a criminal organization (Article 255-1), and committing crimes by a group of persons and by prior conspiracy.

One of the suspects was in custody during the trial. In July, the court extended his pre-trial restraint to detention until September 26 with the right to be released on bail in excess of UAH 242,000. The other two were released on a similar bail, but were released in recognition of their obligations: they are prohibited from traveling outside the Odesa region, are required to surrender their passports and appear in court regularly.

Also in early August, prosecutors in Odesa sent to court an indictment against three Odesa residents suspected of committing sabotage. According to the investigation, in early 2025, one of the men contacted a representative of the Russian special services via messenger, who offered money for setting fire to railway infrastructure to disrupt train traffic. He agreed to the offer and involved two other acquaintances in criminal activity.

Анна Бальчінос