Lithuanian prosecutors allege a Russia-linked sabotage network planned
arson attacks across Europe
[September 18, 2025]
By EMMA BURROWS
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuanian prosecutors said they uncovered and
detained a Russia-linked network of suspects who are alleged to have
planned and organized arson attacks in various European countries. The
detentions follow dozens of attacks and other incidents which Western
authorities have linked to Moscow.
The suspects are accused of sending packages containing homemade
explosive devices to other European Union countries and the United
Kingdom via courier services, on behalf of Russia's military
intelligence services, the prosecutor general’s office in the Lithuanian
capital Vilnius said in a statement Wednesday. The highly flammable
incendiary devices with timed detonators were hidden inside vibrating
massage cushions and tubes of cosmetics.
European security officials have previously warned that a widespread
sabotage campaign blamed on Russia is growing more dangerous. The plots
to use explosives are among around 80 incidents linked to Russia that
The Associated Press has documented since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine
in February 2022.
They include 18 cases of arson or serious sabotage, including attacks on
restaurants, warehouses and shopping centers as well as a plot to
assassinate the CEO of a German arms company.
The Lithuanian authorities said a total of 15 people — citizens of
Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine — are suspected of
organizing and carrying out the alleged attacks. Their statement said an
international arrest warrant has been issued for three people, but did
not make clear if and how many people had been arrested.
The investigation found that the packages contained thermite — a highly
inflammable substance used for industrial and military purposes.
Prosecutors say the packages were posted by a Lithuanian citizen on
July, 19 2024. Two shipments were sent from Vilnius to the U.K. by DHL
cargo planes, and the other two were sent to Poland by DPD trucks.
One of them caught fire at the DHL logistics center in Leipzig on July
20, just before it was loaded onto a DHL cargo plane to the U.K. Another
shipment to Britain caught fire in the early hours of July 22 at a DHL
warehouse in the city of Birmingham.
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An DHL airplane reflects in the water during the opening of the new
sorting center at its European DHL Express air freight hub in
Schkeuditz near Leipzig, Germany, Oct. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Jens
Meyer, File)
In Poland, a shipment caught fire in a DPD freight truck on July 21
while another DPD shipment did not ignite due to a technical
failure, which prevented the explosive device from detonating.
The Lithuanian prosecutor general's office said two of the people
detained were also involved in an arson attack on an IKEA store in
the capital, Vilnius, on May 9, 2024. It said one of the men is a
Ukrainian citizen who also uses the identity of a Russian citizen,
while the other is a dual Lithuanian-Russian national.
During the investigation, more than 30 searches were carried out in
Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and Estonia, during which further
incendiary devices were found. The authorities suspect that the
devices could have been used to plan and carry out further attacks.
Lithuanian authorities said because of the “extremely dangerous”
acts, a joint investigation team was created, with the cooperation
of law enforcement and intelligence officers from nine countries
including the U.S. and Canada.
Also on Wednesday, the Latvian State Security Service said it had
detained a man on suspicion of collecting information about Latvian
military sites and passing the information to Russia's intelligence
services.
In a statement, it said the man provided Russian intelligence with
information about NATO troops based in the country, training
exercises and the construction of “new military objects.”
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