SBU: Russian special services recruited teenagers for sabotage in Kyiv region through blackmail.
The SBU uncovered a scheme by Russian special services, which used blackmail to involve two teenagers from Kyiv region in sabotage. A 17-year-old set fire to several trucks belonging to a local logistics company, while a 16-year-old was supposed to scatter screws on the road to block the movement of trucks. The older suspect has been informed about the suspicion and is in custody.
Russian intelligence services used blackmail to force a 17-year-old resident of Kyiv region to set fire to trucks belonging to a local logistics company, and they planned to block the movement of freight traffic on one of the region's roads. This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine.
According to the case materials, both teenagers were recruited separately through Telegram chats aimed at finding close relationships: the intelligence services created fake accounts of girls with whom the teenagers became acquainted. Subsequently, the fictitious contacts disappeared from the chats, and a man emerged, who introduced himself as an SBU employee and claimed that their new acquaintances had been arrested for treason. The teenagers were threatened with legal consequences and offered cooperation under the guise of "assisting the investigation."
According to the SBU, a 17-year-old was tasked with setting fire to a convoy of trucks, as well as purchasing a package of screws, leaving it in a storage facility, and passing the location to a contact from Russia. This person, a 16-year-old local resident, was supposed to arrive at the specified coordinates to collect the screws and scatter them on one of the roads to temporarily block the movement of trucks.
Employees of the SBU uncovered the plot and detained a 17-year-old individual after he set fire to several trucks and attempted to destroy more. He has been informed of suspicion under Article 2, Article 3, Article 15, and Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – for attempted intentional destruction or damage of another person's property by arson. The suspect is in custody; he faces up to ten years in prison under the charged article.
The investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement officials are identifying all those involved in the crime. Comprehensive measures were carried out by employees of the Main Directorate of the SBU in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, under the procedural supervision of the Kyiv regional prosecutor's office.