In Bukovina, a 23-year-old man will face trial for setting fire to relay cabinets and military vehicles.

In Chernivtsi, law enforcement officials detained a resident of Sievierodonetsk who, at the behest of Russian special services, set fire to railway relay cabinets and military vehicles. He has been charged, and the case has already been referred to court. Authorities managed to establish that the man moved to Chernivtsi from the Luhansk region in 2022 and immediately began acting on the instructions of the FSB.

After relocating to Chernivtsi, the 23-year-old resident of Sievierodonetsk started looking for easy earnings. Through Telegram channels, he was contacted by a representative of the Russian special service who offered him cooperation aimed at undermining railway operations, reported the SBU of Bukovina on Wednesday, January 29.

Initially, the Russian handler assigned the 23-year-old man some test tasks. The traitor was instructed to create provocative graffiti on buildings, cultural monuments, and military vehicles, photograph everything, and send it to the handler. After a successful trial, he was sent to another region for reliability testing. There, he also defaced buildings with provocative graffiti.

The next task was to set fire to a relay cabinet in the Chernivtsi region. This was intended to disrupt railway logistics in Bukovina. “To carry this out, the criminal first selected a target, coordinated the 'objective' with the handler, and then poured a flammable mixture into it and set it on fire,” the SBU of Chernivtsi region reported.

After this, the man received instructions to spy on military vehicles and relay relevant information to the FSB representative. Later, the Russian handler ordered him to burn a military vehicle, providing advance details on the make, license plates, and geolocation.

Law enforcement officials informed ZAXID.NET that SBU operatives apprehended the criminal in August 2024 “in hot pursuit” after the arson of a military vehicle. The 23-year-old recorded all his activities on his mobile phone and sent reports via Telegram, receiving payment to a pre-established cryptocurrency wallet.

SBU investigators notified him of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: ️Part 2 of Article 111 (Treason committed in conditions of martial law) and ️Part 1 of Article 114-1 (Obstruction of lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine). The 23-year-old man faces life imprisonment.

The indictment has now been sent to court, and the perpetrator remains in custody.