{"id":8890,"date":"2026-01-16T18:22:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8890"},"modified":"2026-01-16T18:22:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:22:49","slug":"lithuania-charges-multinational-gang-of-russian-directed-sabotage-attacks-russia-ukraine-war-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=8890","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania charges multinational gang of Russian-directed sabotage attacks | Russia-Ukraine war News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Russia behind attempted 2024 arson attack on plant supplying radio wave scanners to Ukrainian military, Lithuania says.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 16 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">16 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p class=\"p1\">Lithuanian authorities accused Russia\u2019s GRU military intelligence service \u200don Friday of \u200dmasterminding attempted arson attacks on a plant that supplies radio wave scanners to Ukraine\u2019s army.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Six nationals of Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Russia and Belarus had been arrested and charged over the 2024 attacks, and each faces \u2060up to 15 years in jail if convicted, senior prosecutor Arturas Urbelis told \u200breporters on Friday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe crimes were coordinated, and orders were issued to the perpetrators \u200dby a group of people living in Russia, who are connected with Russia\u2019s GRU,\u201d the deputy chief of Lithuania\u2019s criminal police, Saulius Briginas, said at the same event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">There was \u200dno immediate reaction \u2060from Russia, which has repeatedly denied accusations that it has stepped up sabotage and other attacks in the region since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The group that coordinated the attack was made up of Colombian and Cuban citizens living in Russia, and had attempted similar arson attacks in Poland, Romania and the \u200bCzech Republic, Briginas said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They had targeted oil infrastructure in \u200cRomania, construction warehouses in Poland and buses, a post office and a cinema in the Czech Republic, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Lithuania has issued international arrest warrants for three more people, and was trying to \u200cextradite a fourth who has been arrested in Colombia, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">All of the six arrested people had links \u200cto Russia, where they studied, travelled or had acquaintances, \u2060Briginas told the news conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They were paid 5,000 to 10,000 euros ($5,800 to $11,600) for their actions, Urbelis said. \u201cThe perpetrators were mainly motivated by money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Last year, Lithuania blamed Russia for an attempted arson attack on an IKEA \u200cshopping centre.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Polish prosecutors last month charged a Russian in absentia with directing a group of saboteurs and spies as part of a suspected campaign to undermine Warsaw\u2019s strong \u200dsupport for Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Moscow has dismissed such accusations in the past, saying the West is stoking anti-Russian feelings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia behind attempted 2024 arson attack on plant supplying radio wave scanners to Ukrainian military, Lithuania says. Published On 16 Jan 202616 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Lithuanian authorities accused Russia\u2019s GRU military intelligence service \u200don Friday of \u200dmasterminding attempted arson attacks on a plant that supplies radio wave [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}