Prosecutors say the 39-year-old funneled cryptocurrency payments and recruited operatives via a Telegram channel, drawing in two teenagers for attacks and propaganda.
The Odessa Regional Prosecutor’s Office has, in absentia, notified a 39-year-old Russian citizen of suspicion, whom investigators consider the organizer and financier of a terrorist act in Odesa through cryptocurrency transfers.
This information came from a press release by the Office of the General Prosecutor.
According to investigators, the suspect acted as an intermediary between Russian security services and the perpetrators of crimes in Ukraine. Through a Telegram channel that posted calls to resist mobilization and sought those who would carry out the assignment under the guise of “easy money,” they organized the use of such people.
Subsequently, subordinates were recruited: first to display prohibited symbols and post leaflets, to gather information about the defense forces, and later to commit arson and other sabotage, the police reported.
Suspicion, the organizer’s role, and the involvement of minors
According to investigators, two boys, aged 16 and 13, were drawn into the criminal activity. In April 2024, they set fire to a service vehicle of the defense forces in Odesa, and the crime footage was used by Russian propaganda outlets to fabricate fakes about the alleged existence in the city of “underground” and “centers of resistance.”
Materials regarding the minors have already been sent to the court.
The organizer is accused of organizing a terrorist act and financing terrorism.
According to law enforcement authorities, on May 23 in Odesa there was a car explosion; two people were injured. The Security Service of Ukraine classified the incident as a terrorist act, and a probe has been opened.
The case is being investigated by the relevant law enforcement agencies.
