Donetsk republic opens criminal case into arson attack on OSCE cars

The Interior Ministry of the Donetsk People’s Republic said on Wednesday it has launched a criminal investigation into the arson of OSCE vehicles near the mission’s headquarters in Donetsk.

Three armored cars of the special monitoring mission were destroyed overnight to August 9 and four other vehicles were damaged “presumably as a result of arson,” the OSCE SMM said.

The perpetrators of the arson attack face up to five years in jail. A search for them is underway, the ministry said.
The Donetsk republic said the cars had been set on fire by saboteurs of Kiev’s special services. The speaker of the DPR People’s Council, Denis Pushilin, said the authorities have tightened security of the mission’s personnel.

The SMM representatives said they had no plans to leave Donetsk after the incident.