In Odessa, law enforcement officers have detained four men who committed the murder of a local entrepreneur-volunteer. The crime was committed on January 20 near his house in the Peresypsky district of the city. The suspects acted on the orders of Russian special services, using homemade explosives.
"The terrorist attack was committed by four Odessans who were recruited by Russian intelligence services and acted in the interests of the aggressor state. For a monetary reward, they agreed to the offer to manufacture explosives and detonate them at a designated location. They were promised $2,500 for committing the terrorist attack," the prosecutor's office said.
It is noted that one of the suspects made an explosive device from improvised components. A representative of the Russian special services supervised the creation process and provided detailed instructions online. Three others took the explosive and planted it near the fence of the victim's house, next to a parked car. To record the terrorist attack, the attackers set up a mobile phone in front of the house in video broadcast mode.
According to law enforcement, in order to force the volunteer to come to their car, the attackers set it on fire. The man went outside to put out the fire, but did not have time to do anything, as the explosive device detonated and he died on the spot.
“Later, the agents called the customer, who was watching the crime in real time, who confirmed the completion of the task, for which he transferred $1,000, which they divided between themselves,” the report says.
They were exposed and detained the day after the crime, which prevented repeated terrorist attacks, the prosecutor's office reported.
All four perpetrators were informed of suspicion of committing a terrorist act that resulted in the death of a person (Part 3 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). They were given preventive measures in the form of detention without the right to post bail. The men face a sentence of 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.
The regional SBU department said that they detained the suspects while they were preparing an explosion near one of the regional police departments.
“The terrorists were going to set fire to several official vehicles, and then, when the police arrived at the scene of the fire, remotely detonate an improvised explosive device,” the department specified.
As the investigation established, in order to implement this plan, the suspects settled in a hostel near the facility, purchased four cans of gasoline for arson, and kept an explosive disguised as a fire extinguisher in a previously prepared hiding place.
Employees of the SBU and the National Police detained the perpetrators during the preparation stage of this terrorist attack, and they managed to track them down during the investigation into the murder of the volunteer.
According to the investigation, the perpetrators were three drug addicts aged 23 to 45, as well as their 46-year-old accomplice, who had previously served time for theft and robbery. The repeat offender acted separately from the rest of the group and was responsible for making the explosives and planting them in the hiding places.
