INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
seen a wave of tried arson attacks targeting banks, shopping centers, post workplaces and federal government buildings over the last 3 days,
according to media reports.Around 20 separate cases of individuals trying to set off little explosive devices or introducing fireworks into
buildings have been tape-recorded since Friday, mainly in St
Petersburg, Moscow and the surrounding suburban areas, according to the state-run TASS news firm and the independent Fontanka site.Citing an
unnamed police source, TASS reported that individuals had been hired by online scammers providing money for the tried attacks.Footage from
monitoring electronic cameras at some of the sites, shared on social media, appeared to show individuals using their smart phones to film
the fires they tried to set off.Images from the after-effects of one attack revealed a destroyed ATM and neighboring windows burnt out,
while another showed a burnt-out police car.Cash machines of state-run banks, shopping mall, post workplaces, military enlistment offices,
squad cars and other administrative structures have all been targeted.State loan provider Sberbank reported a 30% increase in tried arson
attacks over the recently, according to the RIA Novosti state news firm citing the banks press service.Most of those detained after the
tried attacks were pensioners, TASS reported.Sberbank said they had actually been hired by scammers in Ukraine.Moscows FSB security service
has formerly warned Russians that Ukrainian fraudsters, impersonating security representatives, have called senior people asking them to
perform arson attacks in exchange for money, or to restore access to blocked accounts.There was no reaction from Kyiv to the wave of
attempted attacks or accusations they were being managed from Ukrainian territory.Several Russian military enlistment offices were hit in
arson attacks using homemade Molotov cocktails since Moscow bought troops into Ukraine in February 2022
The recruitment buildings ended up being more heavily targeted after President Vladimir Putin announced an out of favor conscription drive
in September 2022 that saw more than 300,000 Russians by force drafted to eliminate in the conflict.Russian courts have given out a number
of years-long prison sentences to those apprehended for the attacks.
