SSU exposes another group of car arsonists, detains coordinator. VIDEO+PHOTOS
A group of people who set fire to military and law enforcement vehicles in southern Ukraine was exposed. The group operated in Kherson, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the SSU press centre.
"The Security Service and the National Police neutralised a criminal group that was carrying out an 'order' from Russia to commit arson attacks in Ukraine.
As a result of the special operation in Kherson, Odesa and Mykolaiv, the organiser and three members of the criminal group coordinated by the FSS were detained," the statement said.
Law enforcement officers found out that the occupiers' accomplices were setting fire to the official vehicles of the Defence Forces. The priority targets of the enemy were military pick-up trucks involved in combat missions. The group's coordinator was a former prisoner from Kherson region who had previously served a sentence for drug trafficking.
He involved his partner and two other criminals whom he had met while in prison in the illegal activity.
According to the investigation, the defendants "toured" three regional centres at once. There, they first tracked the cars of Ukrainian defenders and then "coordinated" potential targets with a Russian supervisor.
After he gave the go-ahead, the perpetrators would arrive at military vehicle parking areas at night and set them on fire.
The defendants recorded the fire with a mini-video camera and then passed it on to the coordinator, who was supposed to send reports to the FSS, on flash drives.
The attackers managed to set fire to five vehicles of the Defence Forces.
SSU officers detained the group's leader and his partner in Odesa, and two of the arsonists in Kherson.
According to the investigation, the organiser of the criminal group came to the attention of the FSS while he was still in prison.
After his release, the former prisoner was contacted remotely by a representative of the Russian special services and offered him cooperation for money.
During the searches at the detainees' addresses, a Kalashnikov rifle, a pistol with ammunition, F-1 and RGD-5 grenades, flash drives, a video camera and mobile phones with evidence of the crimes were seized.
The defendants were served a notice of suspicion under Part 2 Article 28, Part 1 Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy).
The offenders are in custody. They face up to 8 years in prison. The issue of additional qualification of the detainees' criminal actions is being resolved.
