Arson of buildings of military enlistment offices in the regions of Russia was carried out by Russians on telephone instructions from Ukraine, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office reports . According to the department, the calls were massive and coincided in time “with the dates of the successful advance of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the zone of the special military operation.”
As noted in the Prosecutor General’s Office, the callers were financed by organizations associated with the Ukrainian authorities. In the conversation, the perpetrators presented themselves as law enforcement officers and banks and “persuaded citizens to commit crimes” under the guise of helping to apprehend criminals or to repay loans.
“Any phone calls of this kind are illegal and are aimed at involving citizens in committing crimes, including those of a terrorist nature, as well as against the security of the state,” the Prosecutor General’s Office warned.
The department added that arson, explosions and other deliberate destruction or damage to government facilities can be regarded as a terrorist attack or sabotage (Articles 205 and 281 of the Criminal Code).
Ministry of Internal Affairs warned of a 20-year period
A similar warning about attempts by “telephone scammers from Ukraine” to involve Russians in sabotage and terrorist attacks on the morning of August 8 was issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The callers offer to return the allegedly stolen money or “revenge the swindlers” or help to detain them.
“Sometimes they simply threaten trouble or even kill relatives and friends. But whatever the pretext, everything ends in the same way: with the demand to set fire to military, transport or banking infrastructure,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
The ministry noted that attackers began to massively use this technique only in the last week. “This indirectly indicates that almost all phone scammers attacking Russians are in Ukraine and carry out the same orders,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs believes. The victims are mostly the elderly.
The Russians are also directly offered to commit a terrorist attack or sabotage for money, in particular, to set fire to the specified object, the department added. The Ministry of Internal Affairs warned that attacks on military and strategically important facilities are qualified as sabotage or a terrorist act, which threatens the perpetrator with imprisonment for up to 20 years.
Mironov suggested equating Ukrainian call centers with military targets
Sergei Mironov, head of the Just Russia – For Truth party, sent a letter to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu proposing that Ukrainian call centers be treated as military facilities with “all the ensuing consequences,” Vedomosti writes .
Mironov said that since August 1, Ukrainian call centers have concluded agreements with the military intelligence of Ukraine “to conduct information sabotage” against Russia. In the first two days of August, according to the party leader, there were 25 attempts to set military enlistment offices on fire in Russia. Mironov noted the high degree of psychological processing of the victims, which is why the detainees later cannot explain the reason for their actions.
“Given the sabotage nature of the activities of these call centers commissioned by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, it seems appropriate to consider these call centers as military facilities with all the ensuing consequences,” Mironov urged in a letter to Shoigu.
The deputy also called on the FSB to take action against call centers “as threatening the security of the Russian Federation.”
Mironov explained that the recognition of call centers as objects facilitating Ukrainian sabotage in Russia puts them on a par with similar units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and military infrastructure. “In turn, this entails the recognition of such centers as legitimate military targets for their destruction,” the parliamentarian emphasized.
- In late July – early August, a wave of arsons and attempts to set fire to military registration and enlistment offices swept across Russia . Among the arsonists were pensioners, including mentally vulnerable people. Many detainees said that they acted on the instructions of telephone scammers.
- RBC wrote , citing sources, about 16 attempts to set fire to military registration and enlistment offices from late July to early August. In half of the cases, the detainees acted on the instructions of telephone scammers and people “using psychological manipulation techniques,” the sources said.
Source : RTVI
