(ANSA-AFP) - VILNIUS, MAR 17 - Lithuanian prosecutors on Monday blamed the Russian military intelligence service for being behind the arson attack on an Ikea store in Vilnius last year, calling it "an act of terrorism".
Lithuania, a Baltic state and NATO member, has been a staunch ally of Kyiv since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and frequently warned against sabotage attempts inspired by Russia.
On Monday,
Lithuanian prosecutor general's office attributed the arson
attack at Vilnius's Ikea furniture store to Russia's military
intelligence agency, the GRU. "We regard this act as an act of
terrorism with serious consequences," prosecutor Arturas Urbelis
told reporters. The Ikea store was set ablaze in Vilnius in May
2024. The fire caused no casualties. The prosecutors said two
Ukrainian citizens were suspects in the Ikea arson case -- with
one being detained in Lithuania and the other in Poland. "It has
been established that through a series of intermediaries... the
organisers of these crimes are in Russia and this is connected
to military intelligence and security forces," Urbelis said.
Prosecutor's office said that the person detained in Lithuania
is suspected of having entered Poland in spring 2024. "During a
secret meeting in Warsaw, he and another person agreed to set
fire to and blow up shopping centres in Lithuania and Latvia for
a reward of 10,000 euros," the office said in a statement. "More
than one supermarket has been set on fire, and not just
supermarkets," Urbelis said when asked about whether the arson
was linked to similar cases in neighbouring Poland. "It is
obvious that the persons we have identified, the perpetrators
and the intermediaries, are also linked to the criminal acts
committed in Poland," he added. Commenting on the findings,
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was "exceptionally
perfidious" for Russia to hire Ukrainians as perpetrators of
sabotage acts. "Dear allies, the investigation of the Lithuanian
prosecutor's office has confirmed our suspicions that
responsible for setting fires to shopping centres in Vilnius and
Warsaw are the Russian secret services," he said on X.
(ANSA-AFP).
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