Lithuania accuses Russia over Ikea store fire in Vilnius

Nato allies believe Russia is running sabotage operations to undermine European support for Ukraine.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersLithuania accuses Russia over Ikea store fire in Vilnius24 hours agoShareSaveShareSaveBBCLaurence PeterBBC NewsLithuanian prosecutors say Russia's military intelligence service GRU was behind an arson attack on an Ikea furniture store in the Baltic state's capital Vilnius last year.

Two Ukrainian suspects have been arrested – one in Lithuania, the other in Poland – over the attack, which prosecutor Arturas Urbelis called "an act of terrorism".

He said investigation of intermediaries had established that "this is connected with the military intelligence, with the security services".

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Lithuania had "confirmed our suspicions that responsible for setting fires to shopping centres in Vilnius and Warsaw are the Russian secret services."

"Good to know before negotiations. Such is the nature of this state," he wrote in a post on X.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c757kpk21d9o

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