The man who had committed an act of arson at a Zaporizhia-based church of the ROCinU was sentenced to seven years in prison.
According to the press service of the regional prosecutor’s office, in 2019, the perpetrator received a task from a Russian handler, through the “DPR” terrorist organization, to set a local temple of the Moscow Patriarchate on fire. To this end, the man found two accomplices and committed the crime, reports Depo.Zaporizhia.
As it turned out, law enforcers had been aware of the attempt as part of a sting raid – from the preparation stage to the execution and reporting to the masterminds behind the plot.
The provocation that aimed to present a pro-Russian church as being targeted by local attackers had been organized and financed from Russia through the “DPR.”
At the time, the SBU identified one of the leaders of the Zaporizhzhya separatist movement, Artem Tymchenko, who fled from town after the so-called “Russian Spring” failed, as the individual who ordered the arson attack. Another accomplice was a local resident, member of the “DPR” terrorist organization Andriy Kuzmenko, codename “Sarmat.”
Both remain at large and have been put on a national wanted list.
