Russian military intelligence behind Ikea Store Arson: Lithuania

Lithuanian prosecutors blamed on Monday to the Russian military intelligence service for being behind the incendiary attack in an Ikea store in Vilnius last year, qualifying it as “an act of terrorism.”

Lithuania, a member of the Baltic State and NATO member, has been a firm kyiv ally since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and often warned against sabotage attempts inspired by Russia.

On Monday, the Lithuanian Attorney Office attributed the fire attack in the Ikea Furniture Store in Vilnius to the Russian Military Intelligence Agency, The Gru.

“We consider this act as an act of terrorism with serious consequences,” prosecutor Arturas Urbelis told reporters.

The Ikea store caught in Vilnius in May 2024. The fire did not cause victims.

The prosecutors said that two Ukrainian citizens were suspected in the case of Ikea Arson, and one was detained in Lithuania and the other in Poland.

“It has been established that through a series of intermediaries … the organizers of these crimes are in Russia and this is related to the military forces of intelligence and security,” said Urbelis.

The prosecutor said that the person detained in Lithuania is suspected of having entered Poland in the spring of 2024.

“During a secret meeting in Warsaw, he and another person agreed to light fire and fly shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia for a reward of 10,000 euros,” the office said in a statement.

“More than one supermarket has fired, and not only supermarkets,” Urbelis said when asked if the fire caused was linked to similar cases in neighboring Poland.

“It is obvious that the people we have identified, the perpetrators and intermediaries are also linked to the criminal acts committed in Poland,” he added.

When commenting on the findings, the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said it was “exceptionally belonging” that Russia hired Ukrainians as perpetrators of sabotage acts.

“Dear allies, the investigation of the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office has confirmed our suspicions that fires responsible for shopping centers in Vilnius and Warsaw are Russian secret services,” he said in X.

“It is good to know before negotiations. Such is the nature of this state,” he added, referring to possible conversations about the destiny of Ukraine, destroyed by war.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a union feed).