Russia May Be Ordering Arson Attacks In European Countries, Ministers Say

Security services around Europe are on alert for a potential new Russian weapon of war - arson and sabotage - after a spate of mystery fires and attacks on infrastructure in the Baltics, Germany and the UK.

- Lisa O’Carroll

Few passed comment on a fire in Ikea in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, this month, until the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, suggested it could have been the work of a foreign saboteur. Investigators have already alleged potential Russian involvement in an arson attack in east London, an inferno that destroyed the largest shopping centre in Poland, a sabotage attempt in Bavaria in Germany, and antisemitic graffiti in Paris.

While there is no evidence these incidents were coordinated, security services believe they could be part of an attempt by Moscow to destabilise the west. They point out that foreign intelligence operations formerly consisted of spies and their handlers, but in the era of social media vandals can be hired for a few hundred euros.