A worker unloads a cargo plane. Image used for illustrative purposes only. AFP
Russia is believed to be behind explosive parcels sent from Lithuania to European countries, according to a Lithuanian presidential adviser on Tuesday. This revelation comes amid growing concern among NATO countries that sabotage orchestrated by Moscow nearly led to an air disaster.
Western governments and intelligence agencies in Europe have previously identified Moscow as the source of a series of fires and acts of sabotage aimed at destabilizing Ukraine's allies. Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported in October that explosive parcels causing fires in courier depots in Britain, Germany, and Poland in July originated in Lithuania.
Britain and Germany have been investigating packages that ignited at depots in Birmingham and Leipzig, with Berlin stating that a plane crash was narrowly averted when an air freight parcel caught fire. "We are informing our allies that this is not random; it is part of military operations," Kestutis Budrys, an advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, told Ziniu radio on Tuesday. "We need to neutralize and stop it at the source, and the source is Russia's military intelligence," he added.
Budrys' comments mark the first time a Lithuanian official has directly accused Russian military intelligence of a specific act of sabotage. Reuters was unable to reach Budrys for comment by telephone. The Russian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gazeta Wyborcza reported that a parcel caused a fire in a truck at a site belonging to a courier firm near Warsaw. Poland announced in October that it had detained four individuals in connection with an investigation into explosive parcels being sent by courier to EU countries and Britain as part of a broader plot aimed at sending such packages to the United States and Canada. The country also closed the Russian consulate in the western city of Poznan due to suspected Russian attempts at sabotage.
Britain's Security Service (MI5) Director General Ken McCallum stated in October that Russia's GRU military intelligence service was attempting to cause "mayhem" across Britain and Europe.
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