By The Moscow Times | Created at 2025-01-10 12:30:30 | Updated at 2025-01-10 15:48:14
3 hours ago
Russian authorities have opened a terrorism case following an arson attack that resulted in a donation center for soldiers fighting in Ukraine burned down in the town of Vyborg near the Finnish border, local media reported Friday.
The organization Vyborgsky Rubezh said its collection point for Russian soldiers in Ukraine was destroyed in the fire that broke out on Thursday morning.
Emergency officials said no one was hurt in the blaze, which spread across an area of 600 square meters.
A 15-year-old student was detained at the site filming the incident, the website 47news.ru reported, citing anonymous sources in law enforcement.
The boy was released after informing the authorities that he was allegedly filming the fire for a 48-year-old man, the outlet wrote.
The report said police raided the man’s apartment and placed him in custody.
News websites 47news.ru and fontanka.ru both reported that the fire was being investigated as a terrorist act, but did not indicate whether the man was named a suspect.
Fontanka reported that the man was charged with petty hooliganism and with “discrediting” the Russian armed forces before authorities opened the terrorism case.
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