A young woman was blackmailed into throwing a Molotov cocktail at a government building in central Russia, the state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday, citing local authorities.
The incident, which took place in the city of Kirov and did not cause major damage, follows a series of arson attacks at polling places during the March 15-17 presidential election.
Authorities have launched 33 criminal cases into those incidents.
“Law enforcement agencies say the young woman was misled by scammers,” a spokesperson for the Kirov region’s governor told RIA Novosti.
“They forced her to throw a Molotov cocktail in the window of the Kirov region government building under the pretext of returning money stolen from her bank account,” the spokesperson said.
RIA Novosti did not identify the woman but said that she had been detained.
Local media identified her as 23-year-old Irina, describing her as a victim of a phone scam allegedly carried out by Ukrainian special services.
It was unclear whether the woman would face criminal charges.
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