What is behind mysterious arson attacks in Russia: Residents setting fire to ATMs, shopping malls, police cars
- 24 December, 13:58
Russia has been hit by a wave of arson attacks in the past few days. 13 cases of attacks on cars, banks, shopping centers, post offices and government facilities were reported in different cities of the country. All of these cases were related to activities of Ukrainian scammers who forced victims to set fires to various facilities, Russian Baza Telegram channel reported on Sunday.
The scammers told their victims that they would get their money back if they did what they were told. In one instant, an elderly woman set off firecrackers in Moscow’s Fort shopping center after fraudsters who swindled her out of $10,900, contacted her and told the woman they would return her money is she carried out the attack. The pensioner was detained by police at the scene. In another arson case, a pensioner poured flammable liquid to an ATM in Rainis Boulevard in Moscow and lit a match, causing an explosion near a bank. She filmed her actions in a video.
Explosion also occurred at ATM in St. Petersburg, with Telegram channels sharing photos and video footage of the assailant. In yet another attack, a student set fire to a bank in Krasnoyarsk city. Police cars were also subjected to arson attacks. In Tver city near Moscow, an unknown person poured gasoline on a parked police gazelle and set it on fire, while two pensioner women set fire to a police car in St. Petersburg. There was a firework attack in the post office in Khimki in Moscow region on December 21.
A video circulated on Telegram app, showed panicked customers running to the streets. About an hour after the initial attacks, a combined arson and firework assault took place at a branch of Russia’s Sberbank on Sredneokhtinsky avenue in St. Petersburg. CCTV footage showed an unidentified woman breaking into the bank's ATM area, dousing several fireworks with flammable liquid, and igniting them. Official Kyiv has not responded to accusations that the waves of attacks had been orchestrated by Ukraine.
