Prosecutors say Russia is behind attack on Ikea Arson in Lithuania

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Last year, the Russian military intelligence was behind the IKEA shop in Vilnius, and at least one of the suspects related to other sabotage activities in Eastern Europe, prosecutors in Lithuania report.

Artūras Urbelis, LithuaniaThe chief prosecutor of the organized crime said Russia was linked to arson IKEA and other incidents through a chain of intermediaries.

“The organizers of these actions are Russia. It is related to military intelligence, with security forces,” Urbelis said on Monday.

Russia has been accused of breathing across Europe with a large number of Western intelligence officials after a number of fires, parcels and actions of vandalism in recent months. Officials said Russia often pays people, including low -level criminals to attack.

Last month, the Polish court sentenced the Ukrainian man to eight years in prison for planning acts of sabotage and arson on behalf of Russia. Polish authorities last week accused Belarusian With the attack on a large shop on its own in Warsaw on behalf of Russian intelligence. In the UK, the man last year pleaded guilty to accepting a salary from foreign intelligence in arson with Ukrainian business in Eastern London.

Kire Jills, a senior housing officer, described the attacks as “isolated signs”, but said that a hybrid war on the part of Russia could be a serious risk.

“If you get rid of random noise, obviously meaningless vandalism like attacks on IKEA and shopping centers, and focus instead of focused intelligence and damage to communications and logistics infrastructure, it becomes clear how harmful this company can be when and when it goes to mass coordinated attacks.”

Authorities are also investigating whether Russia is in a number of large acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea over two years after gas pipelines and electricity and data cables were cut by ship’s anchors.

The Kremlin denied allegations of European governments in the hybrid war.

Prosecutors in Lithuania consider IKEA fire as terrorism and believe that criminals are two Ukrainian citizens.

One suspect was arrested in May last year when he went to the Latvian capital to conduct a similar attack on the arson; According to Lithuanian prosecutors. The suspect, who at the time of the attack was insufficient, agreed to pay 10,000 euros for both Vilnius and Riga attacks.

The suspect then placed incendiary devices in the IKEA store on May 8 with a timed fuse, which went out about 4am the next day. The suspect has already returned to Warsaw, where she received the BMW 530 as a reward for the task, added prosecutors.

Urebelis said the second suspect was detained in Poland and some of the investigation would be transferred to the Polish authorities. The suspects appear to be associated with crimes committed in Poland and added.

The Lithuanian prosecutor said IKEA was elected intentionally because the furniture retailer closed all its shops in Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office confirmed our suspicions that the Russian security services were responsible for the arson in the shopping malls in Vilnius and Warsaw. ” It is nice to know before the negotiations.

Estonian Court convicted seven people Last year, vandalization of cars owned by the country’s interior minister and journalists at the instructions of Russian intelligence.

Additional Charles Claver report in London