MOSCOW: A Belarusian national who set fire to a railway substation in western Russia has been detained by the security forces on suspicion of pro-Ukraine sabotage, Russian state media reported on Monday.
Since start of its full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has detained dozens of people on the suspicion of sabotage, including on its huge rail network.
The Belarusian suspect, born in 1998, targeted a railway substation in Tula, about 175 kilometres south of Moscow.
He had already spent a sentence for hooliganism in Belarus, and carried out the arson on orders from a Ukrainian national for money.
He was detained by security officials in the Russian city of Voronezh, where he planned to commit another crime.
Kyiv, which does not claim responsibility, often hails attacks on Russia’s railway network, which it says Moscow uses to move forces and fuel for its war against Ukraine.
In December, Russia apprehended a Belarusian citizen for placing explosives on two trains travelling through Siberia.
