Europe on high alert after suspected Moscow-linked arson and sabotage

Source: The Guardian

Europe on high alert after suspected Moscow-linked arson and sabotage

Security services say spate of fires and infrastructure attacks could be part of attempt by Russia to destabilise continent

Lisa O'Carroll in Brussels
Thu 30 May 2024 05.00 BST
Last modified on Thu 30 May 2024 17.27 BST

Security services around Europe are on alert to a potential new weapon of Russia’s war – arson and sabotage – after a spate of mystery fires and attacks on infrastructure in the Baltics, Germany and the UK.

When a fire broke out in Ikea in Vilnius in Lithuania this month, few passed any remarks until the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, suggested it could have been the work of a foreign saboteur.

Investigators have already alleged potential Russian involvement in an arson attack in east London, an inferno that destroyed the largest shopping mall in Poland, a sabotage attempt in Bavaria in Germany and antisemitic graffiti in Paris.

While there is no evidence that any of these incidents across the continent are coordinated, security services believe they could be part of an attempt by Moscow to destabilise the west, which has backed Ukraine.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/30/europe-on-high-alert-after-suspected-moscow-linked-arson-and-sabotage