Russia lures teens into arson attacks on Ukrainian military — National Police
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Russian intelligence agencies are offering minors money to set fire to the vehicles of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to destabilize the country, Ukraine's National Police reported on June 14.
Authorities have detained the youths recruited by Russia for these criminal activities. They face up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.
Law enforcement officials discovered that since early 2024, Russian special services have been actively recruiting children aged 13 and older for subversive activities via social media. Russian agents promise generous rewards to minors for committing arson.
In Odesa, the police caught two teenagers, aged 13 and 16, who had set fire to two military vehicles, reported Vadym Dziubynskyi, head of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department. The youths were apprehended along with two friends, aged 16 and 18 while attempting to set fire to another car.
Investigators handed over the case materials to Ukraine’s SBU security service, which, based on the collected evidence, charged the detained suspect with sabotage under martial law conditions.
The youngest, a 13-year-old, was placed under parental supervision. The other detainees were arrested without bail.
For a similar crime, operatives detained two more youths, aged 17 and 18. They were also charged and remanded in custody, the National Police said.
Arson attacks on military vehicles have also been reported in Kyiv and Dnipro. Urgent investigative actions are underway, and a pre-trial investigation continues, police said.
"We urge parents to be more vigilant with their children and to warn them about the enemy's deceit and the legal responsibility for committing sabotage: up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment," Dziubynskyi said.
The National Police earlier reported that overnight on June 10, unknown individuals set fire to a military vehicle in Dnipro. Law enforcement opened a criminal case. At the crime scene, police found empty gasoline bottles. Preliminary data suggest that a group may be involved in the arson.
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