Kremlin humiliated as scammers trick Russians into arson attacks on army offices

Unsuspecting Russians have been deceived into committing arson attacks on military enlistment offices scattered across Russia, according to Ukranian reports.

The first incident came to light in St Petersburg on the evening of July 31, where a 53-year-old man was seen throwing Molotov cocktails at the entrance of the military commissariat department on Tchaikovsky Street. The man claimed that he had been ensnared in a cunning scheme orchestrated by fraudsters.

According to the man’s account, he was enticed into taking out multiple loans and subsequently coerced by an individual posing as an “FSB officer” who promised to help clear his debts in exchange for setting fire to the military enlistment office.

Similar strange instances have been reported from other areas throughout Russia.

KyivPost reports that a 24-year-old teacher was apprehended in Rossosh for tossing a Molotov cocktail at a military enrollment office, and he too offered a similar tale of being coerced into carrying out the deed.

A 45-year-old lady in Mozhaysk was duped by scammers posing as bank workers.

They persuaded her that criminals were hiding in the military recruiting office and convinced her to pour flammable liquid on its windows to flush them out.

Similarly, a 17-year-old girl attempted to set fire to the military enlistment office in Aginskoye.

This action was reportedly initiated by a call from fraudsters who falsely claimed that there was a traitor within the office who was passing on information to Ukrainian intelligence about local residents engaging in Ukraine’s war.

The attacks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation raising the upper age restriction for Russian reservists by five years in order to increase troop numbers.

Furthermore, the Duma is presently working on legislation that, if passed, will raise the maximum conscription age for men from 27 to 30.

Meanwhile, Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports.

Separately, Ukraine’s air force intercepted 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russia over the country overnight, mostly in Odesa and Kyiv, according to a morning update.

All 10 drones fired at Kyiv were intercepted, said Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv City Administration.

Numerous loud explosions were heard overnight as air defence systems were activated.

President Volodymyr Zelensky posted Wednesday morning on Telegram: “Russian terrorists have once again targeted ports, grain facilities and global food security, the world must respond.”