A Kyiv resident avoided jail time for setting fire to a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier's apartment in Odesa

A court in Odesa found a Kyiv resident guilty of setting fire to the door of a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier’s apartment in exchange for money received via Telegram. He was sentenced to three years of probation.

This is stated in the verdict of the Primorsky District Court of Odesa dated October 28, 2026. 

According to the case file, in October 2024, a man from Kyiv met an unknown person on Telegram. The man offered him money to set fire to apartment doors in Odesa at specified addresses.

The man from Kyiv agreed. To carry out the arson, he had to buy lighter fluid at a store. The client also set a condition: after completing the task, he had to send a video showing the door on fire. The man also provided his bank card for payment.

On October 27, 2024, at around 7:20 p.m., he arrived at a building in Odesa. There, he doused the door of a military officer’s apartment with lighter fluid and set it on fire. The fire damaged the door and the floor around it. He filmed everything on his phone and sent the footage to the client. For completing the task, he was paid 20,800 hryvnias in two installments.

The apartment’s owner was a Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember who was on a combat mission at the time. A neighbor notified him of the fire. The total amount of damages was 15,169 hryvnias.

The defendant pleaded guilty and expressed remorse. He also compensated the victim for the damages caused. The apartment owner confirmed that he had received compensation and asked the court not to impose a harsh sentence on the defendant.

The court sentenced him to three years in prison but suspended the sentence with a one-year probationary period. During this time, the man must report to the probation office and notify authorities of any change in his place of residence or employment.

Ірина Глухова