By Micah Jonah
January 16, 2026
Lithuanian authorities on Friday accused Russia’s GRU military intelligence service of masterminding attempted arson attacks on a plant that supplies radio wave scanners to Ukraine’s army.
Six nationals of Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Russia and Belarus have been arrested and charged over the 2024 attacks, and each faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted, senior prosecutor Arturas Urbelis told reporters.
“The crimes were coordinated, and orders were issued to the perpetrators by a group of people living in Russia who are connected with Russia’s GRU,” deputy chief of Lithuania’s criminal police Saulius Briginas said.
There was no immediate reaction from Russia, which has repeatedly denied accusations that it has stepped up sabotage and other attacks in the region since its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Briginas said the group that coordinated the attack was made up of Colombian and Cuban citizens living in Russia and had attempted similar arson attacks in Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic. Targets included oil infrastructure in Romania, construction warehouses in Poland and buses, a post office and a cinema in the Czech Republic.
Lithuania has issued international arrest warrants for three more people and is trying to extradite a fourth who has been arrested in Colombia. All six arrested individuals had links to Russia where they studied, travelled or had acquaintances.
Urbelis said the suspects were paid between 5,000 and 10,000 euros for their actions and were mainly motivated by money.
Last year, Lithuania also blamed Russia for an attempted arson attack on an IKEA shopping centre. Polish prosecutors last month charged a Russian in absentia with directing a group of saboteurs and spies as part of a suspected campaign to undermine Warsaw’s strong support for Ukraine.
Moscow has previously dismissed such accusations, saying Western countries are stoking anti Russian sentiment.
