On March 9 of last year, I celebrated the first arson of a military enlistment office since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yesterday, the arsonist was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony.

As far as I can understand from the article, the arson took place the day after my publication suggesting that military enlistment offices should be burned; that is, theoretically, Kirill Butylin could have been inspired by it, although it is far more likely that the idea occurred to him independently.

According to the article, Kirill was detained at the border between Lithuania and Belarus on the day of the publication of video materials he had filmed on the Vatahunters channel. It is unlikely that he was tracked down based on these materials; it seems that he nevertheless left traces directly during the process of the sabotage.

I am forced to admit: I underestimated the danger of sabotage against the regime. It seems that it is capable of conducting investigations against internal enemies quite effectively—at least until its technical base and the motivation of its employees have degraded sufficiently.

Kirill’s chances of being released before the dismantling of the Russian regime are slim. Unless Ukraine, during its long-announced offensive, manages to capture enough prisoners to redeem all captured Ukrainians and still have an exchange fund left for Russian collaborators. As you understand, the probability is vanishingly small, as Russia’s exchange fund is enormous: hundreds of thousands of civilians alone, and anyone can be made a hostage at any moment.

In general, the only piece of advice regarding the war that remains timelessly relevant is emigration. Countries that still admit Russian citizens still exist, although it seems that it will be harder for each subsequent wave. Do not delay.