Since Friday, there have been reports of around 20 cases where mainly Russian pensioners have attempted to detonate small explosives or fire fireworks at buildings, primarily in St. Petersburg and Moscow, according to the state news agency TASS and the independent website Fontanka.
The pensioners are said to have been recruited by scammers on the internet in exchange for money. Russia is pointing to Ukraine as being behind the recruitment, according to TASS.
During the actual acts, the perpetrator also tries to film their deeds, according to images from surveillance cameras.
Images from one attack showed a destroyed ATM and blown-out windows in the vicinity, while images from another attack showed a burned-out police car.
Russia's security service FSB has previously warned that Ukrainian scammers, posing as security agents, have called elderly citizens and asked them to commit arson attacks in exchange for money.
