Firework Attacks in Russian Cities – Culprits Say Ukrainians Made Them Do It

A series of firework attacks in Moscow on Saturday afternoon and evening were carried out, according to Russian mainstream and social media, by people who had lost money to “Ukrainian scammers” who said they would get their money back if they did what they were told.

At around midday, Russian Telegram channels reported that the Fort shopping center in northeast Moscow was evacuated after gunfire was heard. It turned out, according to the press service of the Russian capital’s Interior Ministry, that firecrackers had been set off by a woman pensioner who was detained at the scene.

The woman told the police that she was forced to do it by a group of “scammers” who had swindled her out of 120,000 rubles ($10,900) who then contacted her and told her they would return her money if she carried out the attack. The Russian state news agency Ria Novosti said those responsible were Ukrainians who had been cheating civilians out of money for several months.

About an hour later, a man set off fireworks in the Korolev municipal offices on the 4th floor of the Helios shopping center in the Moscow region. As a result, windows were broken, and the ceiling was set on fire. Once again, people ran out of the building in panic thinking it was a gun attack.

The suspect initially managed to escape but was later arrested after which he set off another firecracker in the police station in which he was taken. He also claimed that he had been forced to do it by the same group of telephone scammers.

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A couple of hours later, there was another firework attack in the post office in Khimki, in the Moscow region. Footage posted on the Типичные Химки (Typical Khimki) Telegram channel showed flames and fireworks exploding inside the branch as panicked customers ran out into the street.

These attacks were followed about an hour later by a combined arson and firework attack on a branch of Russia’s Sberbank on Sredneokhtinsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. CCTV cameras captured an unidentified woman smashing down the door to the ATM area of the bank, pouring flammable liquid on several fireworks and setting them alight.

This was the third such attack against branches of the bank in two days. On Friday, a man set fire to an ATM in the Korovinskoe Shosse branch and another set off fireworks in the Janis Rainis Boulevard premises in Moscow.

The Russian military issues website Top War, citing law enforcement sources, said that a whole network of “call centers” have been operating from Ukraine for several months. The “scammers” have been “cheating gullible Russians” out of money to then force them to commit sabotage in public places.

The report said that the issue had become so severe that Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked for his views on the subject during his recent “direct line” end-of-year conference.