Russia Linked to Fire at Ikea Store in Lithuania

Russia’s military intelligence service gru was behind an arson attack on an Ikea store in Vilnius last year, Lithuanian prosecutors said on Monday. Prosecutor Arturas Urbelis called it an “act of terrorism.”

Two Ukrainian suspects have been detained, one in Lithuania and the other in Poland. The person detained in Lithuania had entered Poland in the spring of 2024 before the attack in May.

During a secret meeting in Warsaw, he and another person agreed to set fire to and blow up shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia for a reward of €10,000 [nearly us$11,000]. … The organizer of these actions is Russia, [the suspects] are linked to the military secret service and the security forces.
—Arturas Urbelis

Poland fires: The suspects are also believed to be connected to arson attacks and other acts of sabotage in Poland. One incident occurred last year in May, when a major fire in Warsaw burned down a shopping center with around 1,400 shops, leading to the loss of more than 700 jobs.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented:

The investigation of the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office has confirmed our suspicions that responsible for setting fires to shopping centers in Vilnius and Warsaw are the Russian secret services.

Russian aggression: Polish prosecutor Przemyslaw Nowak said that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine there has been an increase of activity by Russia’s secret services in Poland. Western officials say overall sabotage cases have been rising in Europe in recent years and that various crimes have been committed by Russian paid agents.

Russia is growing bolder and more aggressive in its actions of sabotage and intimidation against countries in the West who support Ukraine. Prophecy shows Europe will respond by remilitarizing and forming a unified superpower.

Learn more: Read “Russia’s War on Ukraine Is Reshaping Europe.”