A resident of the Rostov region has been detained in a terrorism case.

A 19-year-old resident of the Rostov region is suspected of attempting to set fire to an energy infrastructure facility.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in the southern regions of Russia, after the start of the military operation in Ukraine, there have been repeated incidents of arson at infrastructure facilities - in particular, equipment on the railway. On September 14, it became known that a court sentenced to 20 years a resident of the Rostov region, finding him guilty of preparing a sabotage at a transport infrastructure facility on behalf of the Ukrainian special services.

Police and FSB officers detained a 19-year-old resident of the Rostov region, suspected of attempting to set fire to an energy infrastructure facility in the Azov district, the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs reported today on its website.

"It has been preliminarily established that the perpetrator acted on the instructions of unknown individuals who contacted him via messenger and attempted to commit a serious crime for mercenary motives in exchange for a reward," the publication states.

The case is being investigated under part 3 of article 30, part 1 of article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted terrorist act). "Currently, the perpetrator has been detained, and the issue of choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention is being resolved," the agency reported.

It should be noted that arson of railway equipment is regarded by law enforcement as terrorism and sabotage, and in courts, defendants receive long prison sentences. For instance, in April, the Krasnodar Regional Court sentenced a resident of the Seversky district, Daniil Khizhnyak, to 12.5 years in prison for setting fire to a relay cabinet on the railway.

At the end of December 2025, the court sentenced four residents of Kuban to long prison terms under the sabotage article - also for setting fire to a relay cabinet.

In criminal cases, a typical formulation often appears: allegedly "unidentified individuals" force people to film the arsons and then send them to the "customer." This narrative in a large number of criminal cases indicates that investigators found a simple way to prove crimes, noted law candidate Roman Melnychenko.