The Leninsky District Court of St. Petersburg arrested a local resident, Ivan Semyonov, on charges of attempting to set fire to a selection point for contract service. This was reported by the press service of the courts of the city.
The men are charged with preparing to commit a terrorist act (part 3 of article 30; paragraph «a» of part 2 of article 205 of the Criminal Code). According to investigators, Semyonov «entered into an agreement with unidentified persons» and on the evening of August 26 he came to the recruiting center at Podezdny Lane, 4 with two Molotov cocktails. He failed to throw bottles into the building, as he was detained.
According to the SHOT telegram channel, the man was “twisted” by the employees of the selection point for contract service. Previously, he managed to break one of the windows of the building and intended to throw a Molotov cocktail inside. The motives of the Petersburger are unknown.
Over the past month, at least five more people have been detained in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, suspected of setting fire to local military registration and enlistment offices. One of them, a 76-year-old pensioner from Vsevolozhsk, committed suicide after being allowed to go home with a promise to appear.
Detained arsonists often tell security officials that they acted on the instructions of scammers.