Western officials suspect Russia was behind a plot to put incendiary packages on cargo planes

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Western information officials fishy Russian intelligence was down a crippled to put incendiary devices successful packages connected cargo planes headed to North America, including 1 that caught occurrence astatine a courier hub successful Germany and different that ignited successful a storage successful England.

Poland said past period that it has arrested 4 group suspected to beryllium linked to a overseas intelligence cognition that carried retired sabotage and is searching for 2 others. Lithuania’s charismatic wide Nida Grunskiene said Tuesday location were an unspecified number of group detained successful respective countries, offering nary elaboration.

The events travel arsenic Western officials opportunity they are seeing an intensification of a hybrid warfare of sabotage by Russia targeting Ukraine’s allies, including predetermination disinformation and arson attacks successful Europe this year. Several officials said they judge nan attacks were nan activity of Russian subject intelligence, nan GRU, though Moscow denied involvement.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency, aliases ABW, says that incidents successful Poland, arsenic good arsenic different EU and NATO members, had intensified this year. ABW believes they are initiated and coordinated by nan Russian typical services. So far, 20 group person been charged successful investigations led by nan prosecutor’s office, nan ABW and police.

Polish Prosecutor Katarzyna Calów-Jaszewska said nan investigation focuses connected overseas agents conducting acts of sabotage, including damaging business accommodation aliases captious infrastructure specified arsenic airports, airplanes and different vehicles, and arsenic good arsenic arson utilizing self-combustible parcels sent to EU countries and nan U.K. that would ignite during roadworthy aliases aerial transport.

She added that nan group tested a transmission for sending specified parcels to nan United States and Canada.

The Wall Street Journal first reported nan specifications of nan cargo level incidents.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it has put other information measures successful spot successful caller months for definite cargo shipments heading to nan United States.

“We continually set our information posture arsenic due and promptly stock immoderate and each applicable accusation pinch our manufacture partners, to see requirements and recommendations that thief them trim risk,” nan TSA said.

Dirk Heinrichs, a spokesperson for DHL successful Germany, said successful an emailed connection to The Associated Press that nan institution could not supply specifications astir nan matter but was “fully cooperating pinch nan applicable authorities to protect our people, our web and our customers’ shipments.”

The caput of Britain’s home intelligence agency, MI5, said past period nan U.K. is facing a “staggering rise” successful attempts astatine assassination, sabotage and different crimes connected its ungraded by Russia arsenic good arsenic Iran.

Calów-Jaszewska said Oct. 25 that parcels pinch camouflaged explosives were sent via cargo companies to EU countries and Britain to “test nan transportation transmission for specified parcels” that were yet destined for nan U.S. and Canada.

The incendiary devices successful Germany and nan U.K. some ignited successful July.

One was astatine at stopover astatine a DHL logistics halfway astatine an airdrome successful nan metropolis of Leipzig, according to Thomas Haldenwang, caput of nan German intelligence service. The German news agency dpa reported that nan connecting formation containing nan package, which came from 1 of nan Baltic nations, was delayed successful Leipzig and was connected nan crushed erstwhile it ignited and group occurrence to a freight container.

British counterterrorism constabulary are investigating whether Russian agents were down an incendiary instrumentality successful a parcel that caught occurrence successful a DHL storage successful Minworth, adjacent Birmingham, successful cardinal England connected July 22. The incident, first reported by nan Guardian newspaper and German broadcasters, was akin to nan 1 successful Germany.

The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza besides reported that a occurrence was reported successful a courier motortruck adjacent Warsaw.

“We are watching fierce action by nan Russian intelligence services. In peculiar Russian espionage and sabotage successful Germany are connected nan rise, some quantitatively and qualitatively,” Haldenwang told nan German Budestag, aliases parliament, past period while discussing nan Leipzig incident.

“The activities of Russian intelligence services successful nan existent world arsenic good arsenic successful cyberspace show that Germany is nan attraction of this Russia’s hybrid warfare against Western democracies,” he added. “Russia is utilizing its full toolbox: from influencing governmental discussions wrong Germany to cyber attacks against captious infrastructure and sabotage. Russia’s willingness to usage unit proves that it is besides consenting to put quality lives astatine risk.”

In a uncommon nationalist speech mounting retired nan awesome threats to nan U.K., MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said “the GRU successful peculiar is connected a sustained ngo to make mayhem connected British and European streets: We’ve seen arson, sabotage and more. Dangerous actions conducted pinch expanding recklessness.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov connected Tuesday called media reports astir nan alleged sabotage crippled an illustration of a “vague fabrication.”

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Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka successful London, Dasha Litvinova successful Tallinn, Estonia, Kirsten Grieshaber successful Berlin, and Liudas Dapkus successful Vilnius, Lithuania, contributed.