The police have opened a criminal case on the arson of an office in the center of Kherson, the press service of the police in Kherson region said.

"Yesterday, on January 22, at around 23:50, the duty officer of the emergency situations service called the Unified Center 102 of the police in Kherson region. The employee of the State Emergency Situations Service said that an office of a political party was burning at Universytetska Street in Kherson," reads the statement.

A criminal case has been opened under Part 2 of Article 194 (intentional destruction or damage to property) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The police are investigating into the case to identify the lawbreakers involved in the crime.

Chief of the Police Department in Kherson Oleksandr Hovorun said that the consequences of the fire could be unpredictable as the office is situation on the ground floor of a five-storied apartment building.

"The employees of the State Emergency Situations Service quickly localized the fire and no citizens were injured. During the examination of the fire scene, the police verified that the office was set on fire intentionally. It was verified that the lawbreaker broke the window and threw a glass bottle with a highly inflammable substance inside the room," the police said.

The case has been registered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations.

In turn, Kherson-based organization of the Party of Shariy said on Facebook that its office in Kherson was set on fire. Blogger and leader of the party Anatoliy Shariy has promised a reward for information about the arsonists.