Russian spies ‘paid teenager to burn down Ikea’

Russia allegedly paid a Ukrainian teen to firebomb an Ikea store arsenic portion of its “hybrid war” connected the West, US media reported connected Thursday.

Russian spies are said to person offered the 17-year-old $11,000 (£8,000) successful currency and a BMW to transportation retired the onslaught connected an Ikea store successful the Lithuanian superior of Vilnius, the New York Times reported.

The agents communicated with him via the encrypted Chinese messenger app Zengi, nether the James Bond-inspired alias of Q, Lithuanian prosecutors allege.

The teenager, who fled Ukraine aft the February 2022 penetration and was resettled arsenic a exile successful the European Union, allegedly carried retired the onslaught successful May 2024.

The allegations are the latest to look from Russia’s hybrid warfare run successful Europe, which is targeting factories and different cardinal infrastructure successful retaliation for Europe’s subject enactment of Ukraine.

They are profoundly concerning for EU countries who person welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees, and present realise immoderate are being targeted by Russia to transportation retired acts of turncoat sabotage.

Security experts accidental the easiness with which Russia hires radical for specified attacks is similar a “gig economy” for sabotage and state-sponsored terror.

‘Age and ideology don’t substance to Russia’

“For Russia, age, sex and ideology don’t matter...their extremity is to coerce and deter america from supporting Ukraine,” Marius Cesnulevicius, the nationalist information advisor to Lithuania’s president, told the New York Times.

“We are supporting Ukraine, and, successful the Kremlin’s logic, this means we are supporting Nazis.”

Lithuanian authorities who arrested the teen accidental they person been capable to portion unneurotic astir of the details related to the attack.

They allege the teen planted an incendiary instrumentality successful the bedding section of the Ikea store, intending to pain down the full gathering but yet failing to bash so.

According to the New York Times, which was briefed by aggregate Lithuanian sources, the teen seemingly received a battered BMW, but not the currency helium had been promised.

It remains unclear wherefore Ikea was the people of the attack. The teen besides allegedly scouted an Ikea store successful the eastbound metropolis of Siauliai, which hosts a Nato base.

Last year, Lithuanian constabulary arrested an 82-year-old retired antheral successful Siauliai connected suspicions of being an cause of GRU (Russian subject intelligence) aft discovering “spy gear” astatine his home.

Eduardas Manovas was sentenced connected Thursday to 8 and a fractional years successful situation for spying connected behalf of GRU, according to Lithuania’s nationalist broadcaster.

‘The extremity is to origin chaos’

In the teenager’s case, helium was surviving arsenic a exile successful Poland erstwhile helium was allegedly recruited to perpetrate the attack. It is claimed helium crossed into Lithuania successful April 2024 to scout his targets.

In summation to utilizing Zengi, his Russian “handlers” besides allegedly sent messages connected Telegram, different encrypted messaging app, wherever they utilized the sanction Warrior2Alpha.

Darius Jauniskis, the outgoing caput of Lithuania’s authorities information department, said Russia’s extremity was to origin “chaos”.

He said: “We person already entered a warfare portion successful Europe. Their goal...is to make havoc, to make mistrust and panic...welcome to World War III.”

The Ikea occurrence successful Lithuania occurred successful the aforesaid period arsenic a highly suspicious blaze astatine a mill successful Berlin owned by an arms company. That lawsuit is besides being actively investigated arsenic Russian sabotage.

The Telegraph revealed successful March that suspected Russian agents carried retired online probe into occurrence information protocols astatine the Diehl mill premises, soon earlier the blaze occurred.

Russia has been accused of trying to firebomb craft by planting incendiary devices astatine DHL logistics sites successful Birmingham, Leipzig successful eastbound Germany, and successful Vilnius. A buying centre occurrence successful Poland successful May 2024 has been blamed connected Russia by investigators.

In Germany, investigators fishy a imaginable Russian nexus to a bid of panic attacks committed by foreigners successful the run-up to the February elections.

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