As Russia taunts U.K. over Heathrow fire, Kremlin-backed sabotage attacks are in the spotlight

A catastrophic incident saw a single fire at a west London electrical substation bring Europe’s busiest airport to a complete standstill on Friday, sparking speculation over Russian involvement, while others pointed to Britain's inadequate infrastructure in the search for answers.

LONDON — It was a spectacular thing to wake up to: Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports, shut down and plunged into darkness. More than a thousand flights grounded, another hundred already in the air diverted to other cities or turned back to where they came from, in a crisis that snarled travel around the world.

The shutdown was caused by a fire at an electrical substation 3 miles away that supplied much of the airport’s critical services. British police have said there was no initial indication of foul play, and the London Fire Brigade has taken over the investigation from  counterintelligence officers, “as the fire is now being treated as non-suspicious.”

But in the absence of information immediately after the fire, Britain’s raucous tabloids were ablaze with speculation about Russian sabotage: “If Russia was behind Heathrow fire, is that an act of war?” The Telegraph wondered in an op-ed headline. British radio presenter Nick Ferrari asked listeners jokingly whether anyone had seen Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On social media, users pointed to patterns of sabotage by Russia, while others argued the fire was part of a broader strategy of hybrid warfare.

The North Hyde Electricity Substation in London that caught fire last week, shutting down Heathrow Airport.Vuk Valcic / Zuma PressIt is not difficult to see why people might jump to such conclusions. The number of Russian sabotage attacks, many of them carried out in European NATO countries, nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024, after quadrupling between 2022 and 2023, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/heathrow-fire-russia-sabotage-suspicions-rcna197597

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