Ukrainian man faces trial over post office arson linked to online scam Photo

A court in Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district is set to begin hearings in the case of a 25-year-old man from the Zhytomyr region who is accused of setting fire to a post office, Ukrainian investigators said.

According to the investigation, the suspect had come to the Ukrainian capital to earn money and was working as a car mechanic at a local auto repair shop, Caliber.Az cites the Kyiv police.

Law enforcement officials said the arson was carried out on the instructions of a man who falsely presented himself as a law enforcement officer. Investigators reported that one of the suspect’s friends had met a woman online and, before meeting her in person, received a call from an unknown man claiming to be an officer.

The caller allegedly warned that the woman worked for an “aggressor country” and said the friend could face legal consequences for communicating with her.

Investigators said the caller then proposed a way to “avoid problems,” persuading the friend to set fire to a post office where, according to the caller, an accomplice of the woman was employed. The friend allegedly agreed and involved the 25-year-old suspect.

Prosecutors said that at the scene, the defendant poured a flammable substance on the entrance doors of the post office and set them alight. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

By Sabina Mammadli