Lithuania Charges Multinational Gang Over Russian-Directed Sabotage Attacks

Lithuania Seeks Justice in Arson Attack on Radio Wave Scanner Plant

In a recent incident, six individuals from Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Russia, and Belarus have been arrested and charged with attempted arson attacks on a plant that supplies radio wave scanners to Ukraine’s military. According to Lithuanian authorities, the crimes were coordinated by a group of people living in Russia, connected to the country’s GRU military intelligence service.

The group, comprised of Colombian and Cuban citizens residing in Russia, had previously targeted similar locations in Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic. The attacks involved oil infrastructure in Romania, construction warehouses in Poland, buses, a post office, and a cinema in the Czech Republic.

Lithuanian authorities have issued international arrest warrants for three additional individuals and are working to extradite a fourth person who has been arrested in Colombia. All six arrested individuals had ties to Russia, having studied, traveled, or maintained acquaintances there.

According to senior prosecutor Arturas Urbelis, the perpetrators were paid between 5,000 to 10,000 euros for their actions, with most being motivated by financial gain. Lithuanian authorities have previously accused Russia of involvement in similar incidents, including an attempted arson attack on an IKEA shopping center last year.

Russia has not commented on the latest allegations, but has repeatedly denied accusations of sabotage and other attacks in the region since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Source: Al Jazeera