Russia’s National Guard tightens security at draft offices due to increased cases of arson

The National Guard has tightened security at Russian draft offices “due to increased cases of attacks” in Moscow and other cities, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said.

He noted that National Guard units had been deployed near draft offices. Conscription offices have been included on National Guard patrol routes across Russia, Khinshtein added.

The lawmaker pointed out that due to the new measures, the officers had already managed to “catch the perpetrators in the act” while they were trying to throw a Molotov cocktail at a conscription office.

With the start of the “partial mobilisation”, cases of arson at Russian draft offices have increased. On 30 September, Russian army official Vladimir Tsimlyansky said that the arson attempts would be treated as terrorist attacks by the police. The perpetrators may face up to 15 years in jail.