A resident of Volgograd was accused of burning the Koran on the orders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Security forces in Volgograd detained 19-year-old Nikita Zhuravel, suspected of burning the Koran, on camera near a mosque on Povorinskaya Street. According to the Investigative Committee, he was prosecuted for “public actions expressing a clear lack of respect for society and committed with the aim of offending the religious feelings of believers,” notes TASS.

According to investigators, the incident took place “no later than May 19, 2023.” Zhuravel set fire to the Koran and filmed it on video, which then appeared in the public domain on a portal “controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

During the interrogation, Żurawel testified that he carried out the operation at the behest of the Ukrainian special services for a reward of 10,000 zlotys. rubles. He also confirmed his commitment to helping with the filming of military installations. He handed over the video to an employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

Video footage provided by the FSB shows law enforcement arresting a courier riding a bicycle with a backpack from the Samokat courier company. In the next frame, a young man with a blurred face is lying face down on the floor. He says that people from Ukraine contacted him by telegram and expressed their willingness to help their country.

By the decision of the chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, the investigation in this case will be transferred to the department responsible for Chechnya. Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko also said that he considers it “necessary and right” to send the Koran arsonist after his sentence to a colony in a region dominated by a Muslim population.