At least 34 attempted arson attacks recorded in Russia in December

At least 34 attempted arson attacks were recorded in Russia over a 10-day period in December, independent news outlet Mediazona estimated on Sunday.

The attacks, recorded from 13 December to 22 December, mainly targeted ATMs, shopping centres, police cars and administrative buildings, and were carried out by individuals who said they had been forced to do so by phone scammers.

One of the perpetrators, 21-year-old Dmitry Baranov, who threw several Molotov cocktails at a military recruitment office in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals on 13 December, said he had transferred 3 million rubles (€28,800) to unknown people who then forced him to carry out the attack to get his money back. Baranov is now being held on terrorism charges.

A 19-year-old woman from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk suffered second-degree burns on Friday after pouring flammable liquid on an ATM and setting it on fire. According to local police officers, the woman, who was taken to hospital, may have been a victim of fraudsters as CCTV camera footage showed her talking on the phone while pouring the liquid, local outlet NGS24.ru reported.

In a similar case, a 70-year-old pensioner was detained in Kolpino, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, for setting fire to two ATMs on Saturday, local newspaper Fontanka reported.

A total of 156 arson attacks prompted by fraudsters have been carried out in Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mediazona estimated, with the previous wave of attacks recorded in late July–early August.

It is unclear what the current wave of attacks relates to, Mediazona wrote, but it may be linked to Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in show on 19 December and so-called Chekist Day, when Russia traditionally honours members of its security bodies, on 20 December.

Putin was asked about the rise in fraudulent calls during his call-in show, advising citizens “not to answer calls from unknown numbers”, according to state-affiliated news agency Interfax.