Photo: EPA-EFE/SERGEI ILNITSKY
A court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, is hearing a case against a 54-year-old man from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol accused of treason and attempted terrorism, independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Thursday.
According to the prosecution, Andriy Lazarenko went to the military enlistment office in the village of Bolshie Berezniki in the republic of Mordovia, in central Russia, on 15 October 2023 and tried to set it on fire, where he was detained by Federal Security Service (FSB) officers. Prior to that, he had contacted Ukraine’s Azov Brigade and offered to commit arson “to assist the Ukrainian secret services”, according to the investigation.
Lazarenko, meanwhile, says he was detained in Mordovia on the morning of 15 October 2023 when unknown people came to his home, placed a bag over his head and took him to an unknown location, where he was held for over 24 hours. The next day, he was taken to court and sentenced to 14 days’ arrest for petty hooliganism. Lazarenko says he was forced to write a confession.
According to the investigation, Lazarenko asked an acquaintance, Yury Kravchenko, to set fire to the military enlistment office. The court heard an audio recording of an alleged conversation where the men discuss throwing Molotov cocktails. Lazarenko said the recording was incomplete.
A Mediazona source claimed Kravchenko may have framed Lazarenko to obtain a Russian passport by corresponding with the Azov Brigade using Lazarenko’s number.
Lazarenko lived his whole life in Mariupol, and worked at the Azovstal and Ilyich iron and steel works before the Russian invasion. After Russia captured the city, he stayed behind to help residents evacuate, after which he was forcibly taken to Russia.
Mediazona says Lazarenko was forced to accept Russian citizenship in November 2022 and told to join the army, which he refused. He found work as a janitor in Mordovia. Lazarenko says he never gave up his Ukrainian passport, which disappeared during a search, for which he wasn’t present, after he was detained.
