WSJ: Russia Planned to Attack Civilian Aircraft
4 November, 2024 Illustrative photo of a DHL company plane. Photo from the company's website Russians attempted terrorist attacks on civilian aircraft using small incendiary devices sent via DHL.
This information comes from Western intelligence agencies, as reported by The WSJ. It is reported that the terrorist attack was supposed to result in fires on airplanes en route to the United States and Canada. In July, fires broke out in the logistics centers of the DHL postal company in Germany and the United Kingdom because of special devices in parcels.
Illustration photo of the warehouse of the DHL company.
Photo from open sources
Investigative and intelligence agencies in Europe have found that the magnesium-based flammable devices were built into the electric massagers. The Wall Street Journal, citing European experts familiar with the investigation, writes that the devices were part of a broader Russian operation. The electric massagers sent to the UK from Lithuania appear to have been an attempt to figure out how to bring such incendiary devices aboard planes bound for North America.
Detention in Poland
Recently, the Polish National Prosecutor's Office reported that it had arrested four people in connection with the fires and charged them with participating in sabotage or terrorist operations on behalf of foreign intelligence.
Poland is cooperating with other countries to find at least two more suspects. "The group's goal was also to check the channel of transmission of such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States and Canada," the prosecutor's office stated, without specifying who exactly led the group's activities.
Wroclaw, May 29, 2024: ABW agents bring to court suspects of terrorist acts commissioned by Russian intelligence (Photo: Tomasz Petszyk/Agencja Wyborcza.pl)
The Head of Poland's foreign intelligence service, Pawel Szota, added that Russian spies were to blame, and such an attack, if carried out, would be a serious escalation in Moscow's campaign against the West. "I'm not sure that Russia's political leaders realize the consequences if one of these packages explodes, causing mass casualties," Shota said.
Russia's involvement in sabotage in Europe
Other Western intelligence officials have pointed to Russia's responsibility, namely the GRU (General Staff Directorate).
European authorities assert that Russia is responsible for a sabotage campaign involving arson attacks in the UK and Czech Republic, assaults on pipelines and data cables in the Baltic States, and disruptions to water supplies in Sweden and Finland. Previously this year, the United States warned Germany that Russia was planning to assassinate the CEO of Rheinmetall.
Illustrative photo of the complex of GRU buildings in Moscow. Photo from open sources
Several months after the fires at the DHL logistics centers, the heads of both British intelligence agencies claimed that Russia was conducting sabotage operations.
In September, Richard Moore, the head of MI6, said that Russian spy agencies had "gone a bit wild in their behavior."
WSJ sources say that Russian spies could not have carried out such serious operations, especially on civilian aircraft, without the Kremlin's permission.
Journalists also noted that if a fire had broken out on board the plane, the onboard fire extinguishing system might not have been able to control the magnesium flames, potentially leading to a tragedy.