The SBU and the National Police prevented new attempts by the Russian Federation to undermine the socio-political situation in western Ukraine. In Lviv, the SBU detained young men who were preparing a series of arson attacks on Ukrainian soldiers’ vehicles at the direction of the aggressor.
The suspects were two local residents aged 17 and 18 who were looking for “easy” money on Russian Telegram channels.
On one of the public pages, an FSB representative offered the defendant a quick buck in exchange for cooperation.
On his instructions, the young man first searched for the “right” cars and then secretly photographed them for the FSB.
After receiving the media files, the Russian special service gave “permission” to destroy potential targets.
According to this algorithm, the defendant first set fire to the car of a serviceman of a combat brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
To commit the crime, the offender used a bottle of kerosene and an incendiary device, which he poured over the vehicle.
This was a “test” task for the FSB, after which the supervisor gave a new order to involve more young men in a series of arsons of AFU vehicles throughout the city.
Later, a 17-year-old accomplice was involved in the illegal scheme.
During the subsequent crimes, the perpetrators were supposed to film the fire of vehicles for “reporting”.
If the video was obtained, the occupiers planned to use it to create a media image of the alleged existence of an anti-Ukrainian underground in Lviv.
For this purpose, the aggressor planned to involve the maximum number of controlled information resources.
SBU CI officers and the National Police detained both offenders red-handed after committing the crime.
During the searches, the SBU officers seized mobile phones used to communicate with the curator and incendiary mixtures prepared for committing crimes.
Currently, both suspects were served a notice of suspicion under Part 1 Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of lawful activities of the Armed Forces and other military formations).
The offenders are being held in custody without the right to be released on bail. The investigation is ongoing.