An attempt in 2024 to set fire to a Lithuanian factory that supplies radio-frequency scanners to Ukraine’s military was carried out on orders from Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, said Saulius Briginas, deputy chief of Lithuania’s criminal police, Reuters reported.
Briginas said six foreign nationals, including a Russian and a Belarusian, have been charged in the attempted arson. Investigators believe the group also tried to commit similar crimes in Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.
“The crimes were coordinated among themselves. Orders to the perpetrators were given by individuals from Russia linked to Russian military intelligence,” Briginas said.
In recent years, authorities in Lithuania, other Baltic states and Eastern Europe have exposed several individuals and groups tied to Russian intelligence services. In May 2024, an IKEA store in Vilnius was bombed, sparking a fire. Lithuanian law enforcement detained Ukrainian citizen Danila Bardadima in connection with the attack.
Investigators determined Bardadima acted on instructions from Russian intelligence in exchange for money. In November 2025, the Vilnius District Court sentenced him to three years and four months in prison, though prosecutors had sought a five-year term.
Lithuanian investigators also believe underage Ukrainians were responsible for a fire at a covered construction market in Warsaw, Poland, allegedly promised payment by Russian intelligence.
