While parents are on the war front: teenagers from Mykolaiv told how they set fire to military cars on behalf of the FSS
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19:41, 14 October, 2024
In Mykolaiv, teenagers whose parents serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine told about their participation in setting fire to military vehicles on the instructions of FSS agents.
In an interview with Radio Svoboda journalists, the youth admitted that in a few months they committed a number of fires and received about 70,000 hryvnias, which they spent on buying mopeds.
The recruitment of young men took place through Telegram channels, where Russian curators instructed them on the selection of targets and methods of arson. The targets were the vehicles of the Armed Forces and the buildings of territorial recruitment centers (TRC). Curators provided detailed instructions and also reviewed photos of potential targets.
«At first, we found the car, photographed it and sent it to the curator. He confirmed that the cars belong to TRC employees or Armed Forces of Ukraine, and then it was already possible to set it on fire,» said one of the boys.
FSS agents said that the money for the «reward» for setting fire to military vehicles was sent to them by residents of Mykolaiv, who oppose the mobilization.
The idea of how to earn «easy money» for a company of teenagers was proposed by a 14-year-old boy, Dmytro, who at that time had already burned one military car.
«The first time I set fire to a car by myself. I took a bottle of gasoline, poured it over the hood of the car and set it on fire» Dmytro says.
A military vehicle set on fire by teenagers in Mykolaiv. Screenshots: Radio LibertyAccording to him, for the second time he tried to falsify a video of a military car being set on fire, but the curator recognized the forgery and ordered him to perform the task in reality.
«At first I tried to shoot a fake video of the arson, but the curator said that it looked fake, so I had to make a real arson,» he says.
Among those involved in the case is 16-year-old Maksym, who is now under house arrest. He emphasized that he did not want to take part in the arson, but agreed because of a quarrel with his mother and hoped that his role would be limited to «be the lookout».
«II didn’t think I would be punished for this,» the boy excused himself.
Mykolaiv teenagers set fire to a military car. Photo from video surveillance cameras. Screenshot: «Radio Liberty"
Mykolaiv teenagers set fire to a military car. Photo from video surveillance cameras. Screenshot: «Radio Liberty"After another night arson, the young men were detained at a gas station while they were refueling their mopeds.
«We felt great fear when we realized that we would have to take responsibility for this,» admitted one of the detainees.
The Security Service of Ukraine qualified these actions as obstruction of the legal activities of the Armed Forces, which provides for a penalty of imprisonment from 5 to 8 years.
However, juvenile offenders may be given probation, taking into account their age.
We will remind that in Odesa, law enforcement officers detained four people who are suspected of setting fire to minibuses and SUVs of Ukrainian defenders.
Also in Mykolaiv, the court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention for two suspects in setting fire to the cars of the Armed Forces.