Lithuanian prosecutors say Russian intelligence linked to arson last springpublished at 14:52 Greenwich Mean Time
Sarah Rainsford
Eastern Europe Correspondent
Lithuanian prosecutors have said Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, is linked to arson attacks last spring on shopping centres in Vilnius and Warsaw.
Two teenagers have been charged with the attack in Lithuania, accused of planting an explosive device in an Ikea store just before closing.
In Warsaw, a huge shopping mall – Marywilska – was burned to the ground.
The news from Lithuanian prosecutors has been used by Poland’s Prime Minister to remind others about what kind of Russia they are dealing with ahead of any peace talks over Ukraine.
As Donald Tusk points out, Russia hasn’t only launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, it is prosecuting a widespread hybrid war all over Europe.
Writing on X he said: “Good to know [this] before negotiations. Such is the nature of this state”.
The two accused by Lithuania are Ukrainian nationals, fitting a pattern for a series of sabotage and arson attacks across eastern Europe.
Last month, a Ukrainian citizen was found guilty of attempting to set fire to a paint factory in Wroclaw, in western Poland – again, accused of working for Russian intelligence.
Poland closed the Russian consulate in Poznań in response to the case.