Trials are expected to begin in Lithuania and Poland within this year.
According to European authorities, the self-igniting packages sent across Europe in 2024 are linked to the Russian military intelligence, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The publication states that Russia was testing the capabilities of transporting self-igniting cargo on international flights, including passenger planes heading to the United States and Canada.
According to the investigation, in July 2024, four packages were sent from Lithuania to addresses in the United Kingdom and Poland. One of them ignited at Leipzig Airport in Germany just before loading onto the plane, the second one ignited at a warehouse in the United Kingdom, and the third one ignited in a truck in Poland. The fourth package was confiscated intact, allowing investigators to analyze its construction and potential destructive power.
A joint investigation by law enforcement agencies from several European countries led to the identification of 22 suspects in Lithuania and Poland. They are believed to have acted under the direction of Russian military intelligence.
According to Eurojust, potential perpetrators were recruited through an online messaging service, where they were given instructions. Tasks were distributed among several individuals, and payment was often made in cryptocurrency.
The suspects were recruited from Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Ukraine.
Trials are expected to begin in Lithuania and Poland within this year. Earlier, Italian prosecutors accused Russian military intelligence of organizing the arson of an Ikea store in Vilnius. Two of the detainees were citizens of Ukraine, and Lithuania believes that Russian intelligence services used them for their purposes.
At that time, Tusk stated that Lithuania confirmed Polish "suspicions that Russian intelligence services were responsible for the arsons of shopping centers in Vilnius and Warsaw."
