Five charged in Poland over Russian-led explosive parcel plot
WARSAW, Jan 15 — Five men have been charged in Poland for participating in a Russian-run sabotage plot to send explosive parcels to Britain, the US, Canada and other destinations.
The National Prosecutor's Office said the four Ukrainian citizens and one Russian were charged with acting on behalf of Russian intelligence services.
Prosecutors stated the five were accused of committing or preparing acts of sabotage against logistics and aviation infrastructure.
One suspect, Vladyslav D., was allegedly planning to prepare parcels with hidden incendiary devices and explosives for shipment to Britain and Poland.
Another, Viacheslav C., was reportedly planning future sabotage activities including sending two test packages to the US and Canada.
A third suspect, Vladyslav B., was accused of receiving, securing and transporting packages between Vilnius and Kaunas in Lithuania.
National Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Przemyslaw Nowak confirmed the accused face a sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.
A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson said the suspects were identified and detained with cooperation from Ukrainian authorities.
"Russian special services are attempting to recruit individuals and involve them in acts of sabotage via the internet and messaging apps, specifically Telegram," the spokesperson said.
The sabotage plot allegedly led to three parcels being detonated at courier depots in Britain, Germany and Poland in 2024.
Lithuania separately stated last year that detonations of DHL parcels were organised and supervised by Russian citizens with ties to military intelligence.
Charges were not formally presented to a sixth suspect, Russian citizen Jaroslaw M., as Poland is trying to extradite him from Azerbaijan.