The Riga City Court will hear a criminal case on May 20 at 10:00, in which four Latvian citizens are accused of subversive activities on behalf of Russian special services, the LETA agency has learned.
The accused are Karina Ivanova, Konstantin Shiryayev, Konstantin Yakubovsky, and Denis Lukanyenok.
As previously reported by Latvian Television, Ivanova and Lukanyenok are accused of setting fire to a tent of hangar type belonging to one of the enterprises. They also conducted reconnaissance of other facilities for the purpose of committing arson.
Shiryayev is accused of supporting criminal activity, as he assisted the perpetrators as a driver. Yakubovsky, in turn, is accused of inciting arson.
According to the indictment, one of the accused, serving a sentence in prison for illegal drug trafficking, incited the commission of subversive actions, which involved searching for direct perpetrators.
Another individual is accused of supporting criminal actions by transporting the perpetrators in his vehicle to the site of the intended subversive actions and helping them leave the crime scene.
Two other Latvian citizens are accused of assisting Russia as part of a group in activities directed against the security of Latvia, as well as intentionally damaging someone else's property, the prosecutor's office reported.
The case was investigated by the State Security Service (SSS) before being handed over to the prosecutor's office.
The criminal process, within which the actions of these individuals were identified, was initiated by the SSS on June 10, 2024. During the investigation, it was established that at the initiative of the Russian special services, a group of individuals was formed with the aim of committing particularly serious crimes against the Latvian state. These individuals participated in the planning, organization, and execution of subversive actions against various facilities on the territory of Latvia, using deliberate arson. In the spring of last year, the SSS detained three participants, while the fourth was already serving a sentence for another crime.
The evidence collected by the SSS indicates that in the fall of 2023, these individuals planned and carried out a deliberate arson of a facility belonging to a private enterprise, as this company was implementing a project related to the defense sector.
Additionally, in early 2024, they conducted preparatory actions for the arson of a cargo vehicle with Ukrainian license plates on the territory of a critical infrastructure facility — in particular, they conducted reconnaissance and recorded the surroundings of the facility and possible entry points on video.
The SSS investigation also established that the suspects conducted reconnaissance of other potential targets for subversive actions, documenting these objects and their surroundings in photos and videos, which were then sent to the organizers in Russia. To prevent possible attacks, the SSS implemented a wide range of preventive measures.
Currently, three individuals are in custody as a preventive measure, while one of the suspects is already serving a sentence for another crime.
All four had previously been convicted and punished for other crimes, but had not previously been on the SSS's radar.
Information obtained during the investigation indicates that the individuals were primarily motivated by financial incentives when organizing and carrying out subversive actions.
In September of last year, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis acknowledged in an interview with the LETA agency that there had been at least ten acts of sabotage in Latvia over the past two years, and that additional investment in special units and consideration of acquiring helicopters was necessary for more effective response.
The exact number of registered cases of sabotage over the past two years was not disclosed by the minister, but he emphasized that they are not in the hundreds, but at least ten. The year 2024 marked a transition from "soft power" — attempts to influence people's consciousness — to physical attacks on Latvia's infrastructure.
As in any crime, there are perpetrators, intermediaries, assistants, and organizers, Kozlovskis noted. The organizers seek to conceal their identity, while the perpetrators mostly have a criminal past or are connected to the criminal environment.
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