INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Lithuanian district attorneys on Monday accused Russia of managing an arson attack on an IKEA store in Vilnius last year, calling it an act
of terrorism.Authorities said they had reasonable premises to think that undefined Russian military structures and security services
organized and financed the May 9, 2024, attack on the Swedish seller in the Lithuanian capital.We regard this function as an act of
terrorism with major effects, district attorney Arturas Urbelis told reporters.Prosecutors said two Ukrainian residents were thought in the
case, with one jailed in Lithuania and the other in Poland.It has been developed that through a series of intermediaries ..
the organizers of these crimes are in Russia and this is linked to military intelligence and security forces, Urbelis said.The prosecutors
office stated one suspect entered Poland in early 2024 and, during a secret meeting in Warsaw, agreed to set fire to and bomb shopping mall
in Lithuania and Latvia in exchange for 10,000 euros ($10,904)
More than one grocery store has actually been set on fire, and not simply supermarkets, Urbelis stated when asked about possible links to
similar arson attacks in Poland.It is obvious that the persons we have determined, the perpetrators and the intermediaries, are also
connected to the criminal acts dedicated in Poland, he added.The attacks, including the IKEA arson, were meant to intimidate and destabilize
Lithuania and pressure the EU member state to halt its assistance for Ukraine, authorities added.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called it
exceptionally perfidious for Russia to work with Ukrainians as saboteurs.The examination of the Lithuanian district attorneys office has
actually verified our suspicions that responsible for setting fires to shopping mall in Vilnius and Warsaw are the Russian secret services,
Tusk stated on X.Good to understand before settlements
Such is the nature of this state [Russia], he added, in an obvious reference to peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine.In May, Tusk
announced the arrest of nine individuals connected to a supposed Russian spy ring thought of plotting sabotage in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland
and potentially Sweden.The group comprising Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish citizens was accused of carrying out arson attacks and violent
assaults, with some members believed to have been hired from criminal circles.AFP contributed reporting.
