Terrorist attack prepared in Odesa: arsonist of military vehicles sent to jail

In Odesa, a court has taken into custody a 25-year-old man suspected of setting fire to a military vehicle and collaborating with enemy special services. According to the investigation, he was carrying out tasks via Telegram and preparing for an even more serious crime - a terrorist attack.

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

According to the investigation, in January of this year, a representative of the enemy special services contacted the man via Telegram and offered him "earnings" - to set fire to cars owned or used by the Ukrainian military. The suspect agreed to cooperate.

While performing the task, he tracked cars in the city. In particular, the suspect noticed a KIA Sorento on Inglesi Street and reported it to his supervisor. At night, he returned to the place with a pre-prepared incendiary mixture, doused the car and set it on fire.

After that, the offender, following the customer's instructions, recorded the fire on video and sent a report, expecting to receive the promised monetary reward.

Law enforcement officers detained the man in hot pursuit immediately after the arson. It was established that he was a repeat offender and had already been convicted of theft, and committed the new crime during his probationary period.

In addition, according to the SBU press service, the suspect's next task was to prepare a terrorist attack in Odesa. On the instructions of the Russian special services, he was to make an improved explosive device with remote activation.

Also in Odesa, a 26-year-old man accused of setting fire to a bank branch on request will stand trial. Law enforcement officers have completed the pre-trial investigation and submitted the indictment to the court - he faces up to ten years in prison for the crime.

On the eve of the crime, he met the girl through a chatbot in a popular messenger, but she did not show up for the meeting. Instead, he was contacted by an unknown person who introduced himself as a law enforcement officer and said that his new acquaintance was allegedly a collaborator.

Анна Бальчінос