This has been reported by ASTRA, «Meduza», local Telegram channels, as well as propagandists.
For instance, in St. Petersburg, a 20-year-old man was suspected of throwing bottles filled with flammable liquid at the regional military enlistment office. A 17-year-old girl was detained for setting fire to a traffic police vehicle. Additionally, two elderly women set fire to another police car.
The St. Petersburg police are also searching for a woman who organized an explosion at a bank. Surveillance footage shows her pouring some liquid on ATMs and then igniting them. The entire process was filmed on her phone.
Meanwhile, in Moscow and the Moscow region, people are launching fireworks in shopping centers and public places. In Korolev, a 64-year-old man was arrested for trying to set off a firework in a police station after doing so in a shopping mall.
The propagandist Telegram channel Baza reported at least 13 arsons across Russia in the last two days. The St. Petersburg publication “Bumaga” notes that there have already been 13 arsons in the Leningrad region since the beginning of the week, on December 16.
It is claimed that people are allegedly acting on the instructions of “phone fraudsters,” who first extort money and then offer to either return it through arson or provide information about wrongdoers that need to be “smoked out” from a specific building.
Recall that similar incidents in Russia and occupied Crimea were reported in the summer of 2023. In many cases, those suspected of arson also claimed they were deceived by fraudsters posing as FSB agents. Many of the detained believed that by setting fire to military enlistment offices, they were helping to catch real criminals.