![Woman from Saint Petersburg sentenced to 10 years for allegedly burning military office 1 Saint Petersburg woman sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly setting fire to military enlistment office](https://assets.kyivindependent.com/content/images/2024/03/GettyImages-133034821.jpg)
Saint Petersburg woman Elena Komaricheva has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to burn down a military enlistment office, as ruled by a city court on June 21. The court stated that Komaricheva received instructions from an unknown source on how to create an improvised Molotov cocktail using flammable materials.
In September 2023, Komaricheva threw three homemade incendiary devices at a recruitment office, causing around 37,000 rubles ($418) in damages. This incident was part of a series of arson attacks on military enlistment offices in Russia following the commencement of the general mobilization campaign in September 2022.
Despite a decrease in mobilization efforts, arson attacks persist. In August 2023, independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported at least 28 attempts to set fire to enlistment offices in just five days.
Furthermore, the UK Defense Ministry pointed out an increase in such attacks as a sign of growing disaffection among Russians amidst the ongoing conflict with Ukraine and potential future mobilization.