Kenneth Glad
Authorities are examining a series of suspicious incidents involving items moving through commercial delivery systems. Investigators are working to determine whether the events are linked to a coordinated sabotage effort targeting critical infrastructure.
A cross-border investigation has uncovered a suspected sabotage operation that allegedly used ordinary courier deliveries to move incendiary devices through European logistics networks. The incidents have drawn growing concern from security agencies across the region.
The BBC first reported the case, later cited by Digi24, and authorities say it fits into a broader pattern of suspected sabotage incidents in Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Several countries have recently warned of attacks targeting infrastructure, warehouses and transport systems.
Arrests across region
Investigators in Lithuania and Poland have detained 22 people during the inquiry, the BBC writes. Officials suspect the operation involved multiple participants carrying out individual roles, sometimes without knowing the wider objective.
Prosecutors believe the activity may have been coordinated remotely by Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU.
Among those arrested was 53-year-old Aleksandr Suranovas. Surveillance footage showed him sending parcels through DHL and DPD courier offices, Lithuanian investigators told the British broadcaster, placing him near the end of the delivery chain.
Fires spark investigation
The investigation began after several packages caught fire inside courier networks.
According to the BBC, shipments dispatched from Vilnius and addressed to locations in the United Kingdom and Poland began igniting shortly after entering the delivery system in July 2024. Over the following two days, three separate fires were recorded.
One incident occurred shortly before cargo scheduled for London was due to be loaded onto an aircraft. Officials later said the consequences could have been far more severe if the ignition had happened during the flight.
That discovery triggered a major investigation.
Lithuanian authorities later concluded that the parcels had been modified and that incendiary mechanisms had been concealed inside everyday consumer goods in order to bypass standard screening procedures.
Security specialists note that courier networks can be particularly vulnerable because huge volumes of parcels move rapidly through complex international supply chains every day.
Suspect denies role
Surveillance evidence eventually linked Suranovas to the shipments. He admits dispatching the parcels but says he had no idea they contained incendiary devices.
“I would never have agreed to something like that, because it seems terrible to me. I was used.”
Former Lithuanian defense minister Dovilė Šakalienė said that operations of this kind often rely on intermediaries who do not know the full plan, making it more difficult for investigators to identify those directing the activity.
Authorities say the suspected network may also be connected to other sabotage incidents. One alleged coordinator, known by the alias “Warrior,” is believed to have been involved in an arson attack at an Ikea store in Vilnius in May 2024.
The case has heightened concern among European security officials.
“I would not call this a shadow war. I think it is active aggression against our states,” said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre.
“It is a clear message that those who support Ukraine will be targeted by the Russians.”
Sources: BBC, Digi24
