By Tim Binnall
Ukrainian authorities busted a trio of particularly cruel self-proclaimed clairvoyants who preyed on the families of missing soldiers. According to a local media report, the three Kyiv-based psychics asserted in online ads that they could remove curses, improve one's romantic prospects, and provide "answers to all questions." Alas, it was the last of those fantastic claims that caught the attention of multiple women, understandably eager to learn the fate of their loved ones who had gone missing in the war with Russia. The wicked mystics, police said, saw this as an opportunity for profit by "inspiring false hope" and offering assurances "that their husbands were alive and would soon return home," provided that the women paid handsomely for their supernatural protection.
To that end, one such unfortunate victim shelled out a staggering $8,500 for various means of 'protection' such as rituals and 'magic candles.' Once the "hereditary clairvoyants" had the war widows in their proverbial web, authorities say, the sinister psychics chillingly told the women that they must follow through with all of the prescribed and expensive witchcraft procedures, lest even more misfortune befall their families. All told, the suspects stand accused of bilking their victims out of around $32,000 and have been charged with fraud, with a possible prison sentence of three to twelve years if convicted.