Two objects that exploded in Europe, according to authorities, were part of a covert operation to place them on cargo or passenger aircraft
European officials accuse the CRANE of a plot to set fire to cargo and passenger planes.
- Manipulated devices were activated in centers DHL in Germany and the United Kingdom.
- Poland arrests four people as senior officials warn of risks.
The essential: Russia has stepped up its acts of sabotage against the West, sources told The Wall Street Journal. The CRANE, the Russian military intelligence agency, is accused of sending incendiary devices hidden in magnesium-modified electric massagers through DHL. The devices were activated in logistics centers in Leipzig y Birmingham in July, triggering investigations across Europe. Poland arrested four suspects, as British and German authorities warn that the devices could have brought down planes, forcing emergency landings over oceans.
why does it matter:Russian actions show an increasing level of recklessness and have direct implications for global aviation security and stability in Europe.
Russia has intensified its sabotage campaign against the United States and its allies, even targeting cargo and passenger planes, Western security officials said. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Researchers revealed that Two incendiary devices, sent via DHL and designed to cause fires on board aircraft, were part of a covert operation attributed to Russia.
The devices went off in July at DHL logistics centers, one in Leipzig, Germany, and another in Birmingham, England, sparking an intense international search to identify those responsible. People familiar with the investigation said WSJ, The devices consisted of electric massagers manipulated with a flammable magnesium-based substance.
"The group's goal was also to test the transfer channel of these packages, which would eventually be sent to the United States and Canada.”, Poland’s national prosecutor’s office said. Polish authorities have arrested four people accused of participating in sabotage or terrorist operations on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency and are looking for two other suspects.
Pawel Szota, head of Poland's foreign intelligence agency, pointed the finger directly at Russian spies as being responsible.I'm not sure that Russia's political leaders are aware of the consequences if one of these packages had exploded, causing a mass casualty event.“Szota said.
The GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency, is accused of being behind the plot. However, in a conversation with the WSJ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the allegations, describing them as “baseless insinuations.”
European sources maintain that this operation is part of a broader Russian sabotage campaign, which includes acts of arson at the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic, attacks on pipelines and data cables in the Baltic, and the manipulation of water supplies in Sweden y FinlandThe UK's Foreign Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Internal Security Agency (MI5) have warned in recent months about the growing “temerity" of these Russian actions.
In September, Richard Moore, head of MI6, the UK's foreign intelligence service, stressed that Russian spy agencies had adopted behaviours "out of control"A month later, Ken McCallum, head of MI5, the British intelligence service dedicated to internal security, warned of increasingly dangerous fires and acts of sabotage.
Although the plan to shoot down the planes marks a significant increase in the severity of Russian operations, some Western officials who spoke with the WSJ There are doubts about whether the mission had the Kremlin's full approval. German authorities, who tested replicas of the devices, concluded that the magnesium would be difficult to extinguish if it ignited, forcing pilots to make emergency landings and endangering aircraft flying over oceans.
DHL, which uses both cargo and commercial aircraft, confirmed that the devices that caught fire in July were transported on cargo planes and said it was cooperating with authorities. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration declined to comment, but said additional security measures were in place to protect air shipments.
Germany's internal security chief, Thomas Haldenwang, described how “a fortunate coincidence” the fact that no one was injured due to a delayed flight, emphasizing that a plane could have been destroyed in flames.
Russia is Russia and will never cease to be so: Its aggression, dissimulation and hypocrisy know no bounds.