In Ternopil, a student was charged with arson involving two cars
In Ternopil, law enforcement officers detained a 19-year-old student suspected of setting two cars on fire. According to the investigation, a stranger on Telegram convinced the young man that radio beacons had allegedly been installed on the cars to guide Russian attack drones toward the city.
Under the procedural guidance of the Ternopil District Prosecutor’s Office, the student was notified of his status as a suspect in the intentional destruction of another person’s property by arson, pursuant to Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, the young man exchanged messages on Telegram with an unknown individual who ordered him to damage two cars in Ternopil. The interlocutor claimed that Russian agents had allegedly attached radio beacons to the vehicles’ wheels, which Russian troops could use to guide “Shahed”-type attack drones toward the city.
On the evening of October 7, 2026, the student purchased a fire starter and a towel at a shopping center. He then went to Torgovitsa Street in Ternopil.
There, the young man placed a towel soaked in a flammable substance on the wheel of a Ford Transit D and set it on fire. He then left the scene.
That same evening, according to investigators, the student carried out a similar act on Tsehelny Lane. This time, he set a Renault Master on fire.
After setting the fires, the young man fled, but law enforcement officers apprehended him.
The suspect was remanded in custody as a preventive measure.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators from the district police department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ternopil region, with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Directorate in the Ternopil region.
The prosecutor’s office noted that a resident of the Kremenets District was recently notified of his status as a suspect in the arson of a bank. According to preliminary data, the man may have committed the act believing that he could thereby “smoke out” an enemy agent from the premises.
A trial is also underway involving another man who, according to investigators, set fire to a building while allegedly attempting to save his girlfriend. He was also approached with a proposal to carry out a sabotage operation by setting fire to this same bank.
In all these cases, the proposals to commit crimes were sent via Telegram by unidentified individuals. Law enforcement agencies are investigating the circumstances of these cases.
This was reported by the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
In Rivne, an 18-year-old local resident is suspected of setting fire to a military servicemember’s car in exchange for a promised reward of $1,500. According to the investigation, the young man found the request on Telegram and carried it out, but never received the promised money.
Additionally, police, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), detained a 24-year-old resident of the Kremenets district who is suspected of setting fire to the main entrance of a commercial bank branch in Ternopil. According to the investigation, the man acted on the instructions of a Russian handler.
