In Russia, 11 military registration and enlistment offices were set on fire in a day. Arsonists say they were swindled by scammers
– In St. Petersburg , according to Mash on the Moika, on July 31, a naked 53-year-old Alexander threw a Molotov cocktail at the door of the military registration and enlistment office on Tchaikovsky Street, and then got into a car and tried to ram the gate of a neighboring courtyard.
“Fontanka” describes a complex scheme that a man told. At first, the scammers persuaded him to take several loans. Then the “bank security officer” connected him with the “FSB officer”. He promised to help write off the debts, but in return he asked to participate in the “investigation of fraud among the employees of the military registration and enlistment office”: it was necessary to set fire to the door of the institution in order to distract the military. A criminal case was opened under the article on the deliberate destruction of property.
– In Kazan , in the middle of the day on July 31, a 23-year-old girl approached the republican military registration and enlistment office with a black backpack and threw a Molotov cocktail at the door, but it did not catch fire. Later, the girl was detained, other details are still unknown.
– In Mozhaisk , according to telegram channels, scammers called a 45-year-old woman under the guise of bank employees and said that they were trying to take a loan in her name. To prevent this, she was offered to douse the windows of the military registration and enlistment office building with ignition fluid. Allegedly, criminals were hiding there, it was necessary to raise a panic and thus lure the scammers out. The fire was quickly extinguished, the case was opened under the article on the destruction of property.
– A similar story was told on August 1 by a 24-year-old teacher from the Voronezh city of Rossosh , who was detained when she threw a Molotov cocktail at the military registration and enlistment office: she was warned about credit fraud and asked to help detain the criminal.
– In Omsk , according to Shot, a 21-year-old student was detained, who received a phone call and was informed that a loan was being taken in her name, and offered to set fire to the bank building – but in fact, there was a military registration and enlistment office. The girl did not have time to set fire to anything, an inspection is being carried out.
– The story from the Trans-Baikal Territory is slightly different, where a 17-year-old girl was detained in the village of Aginskoye . The scammers offered her to set fire to the military registration and enlistment office, saying that a Ukrainian spy had wound up in the institution, who transmits information to the SBU about local residents who went to war.
– In Podolsk, near Moscow, two pensioners were detained on July 31, when one of them threw something at the military registration and enlistment office, after which a fire started. According to eyewitnesses, both men are about 80 years old.
– In Kaluga, a 77-year-old woman threw a Molotov cocktail at the military registration and enlistment office, and during the arrest she screamed that she had a grenade in her bag.
– During Tuesday morning in the Chelyabinsk region, two military registration and enlistment offices were set on fire.
First, in Kopeysk, a 55-year-old local woman threw a Molotov cocktail through a window on the second floor, causing minor injuries. After the arrest, the source told reporters that she also acted on the instructions of the scammers.
A few hours later, officers of the National Guard in Verkhneuralskdetained a 35-year-old woman who broke glass and threw a Molotov cocktail inside.
“Today in Sestroretsk, a woman came into the military registration and enlistment office with packages in her hands, who warned that she was going to set fire to the building, eyewitnesses said that she was nervous and fiddled with the phone in her hands, and a sharp smell of gasoline emanated from her. The employee was able to take the woman outside, soon the police came and detained her.
Thus, 11 military registration and enlistment offices were attacked in Russia in a day. According to Mediazona’s estimates , as of July 27, since the beginning of the war, 113 military registration and enlistment offices have been attacked across the country, and in 21 cases it was known that people were persuaded to do so by scammers who convinced the Russians that they were participating in some kind of special operation.
The wave of arsons of military registration and enlistment offices across Russia continues. Over the past five days, at least 28 such cases have been recorded. The geography of attacks covers the whole country – from Nakhodka and Khabarovsk to Kazan and St. Petersburg. This is the largest attack on the military registration and enlistment offices since the beginning of the war. And it has a number of suspicious features:
▪️In most cases, the detainees say that they were deceived by scammers who presented themselves as FSB officers. Also, many of them believed that by setting fire to military enlistment offices, they help to catch real criminals.
▪️In 16 cases, it is known that the attacks were committed by people of retirement age. The oldest detainee from Volgograd is 82 years old. As you know, it is the elderly who most often become victims of telephone scammers, so this indirectly confirms the evidence that the arsons were committed under extraneous pressure.
▪️Another indication that those involved in the arson were more random people than real guerrillas is the complete lack of planning and preparation. Most of the attacks were carried out under cameras in the middle of the day, surrounded by a large number of witnesses. The case in Podolsk is especially indicative – there a young man tried to set fire to the military registration and enlistment office two days after two elderly men were detained there for attempting to set fire to the same military registration and enlistment office.
It remains an open question who is behind the organization of this “flashmob”. We continue to monitor the situation and will update if there are new details. In the meantime, we want to once again remind you of safety: carefully plan your promotions and do not believe in provocations and promises of rewards.
