Six foreign nationals will stand trial in Lithuania for attempting to set fire to equipment intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among the accused are citizens of Belarus, Russia, Spain, Colombia and Cuba. They are charged with participating in the activities of an organised terrorist group, financing terrorist activities and attempting to commit a terrorist act. The criminal case has been sent to the Šiauliai Regional Court.
According to the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office, the accused attempted to carry out arson at the premises of TVC Solutions in Šiauliai in September 2024. Their target was mobile radio-frequency spectrum analysis stations intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, worth about 1.5 million euros. In total, products worth 4 million euros were located on the site.
According to the prosecution, the first attempted arson on 17 September was carried out by two Spanish citizens, one of whom also holds Colombian citizenship. They brought materials for arson to the site, but the plan was thwarted by passers-by who scared them off. The accused left the scene and headed to Riga, where they were later detained in Latvia by security services on the same day.
The second attempt took place on 22 September. This time the perpetrators were Russian and Belarusian citizens who had arrived in Šiauliai from Spain. They carried out the arson and, believing they had succeeded, left the scene. However, the goal was not achieved, as the materials used for arson failed to ignite the products stored on the premises.
The following day, a Cuban citizen arrived at TVC Solutions to document the aftermath of the arson. After completing the task, she intended to leave Lithuania but was detained.
During the investigation, another Colombian citizen residing in Spain was identified; his role consisted of financing the group and acting as an intermediary. He was detained in Spain and extradited to Lithuania in May of last year.
All the accused are currently being held in custody in Lithuania.
The investigation continues regarding four additional suspects. One of them has been detained in Colombia, and extradition proceedings are underway. Prosecutors have published photographs of three more suspects.
A joint investigative team created to investigate arson cases in Lithuania, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic concluded that all attempts were coordinated by Cuban and Colombian nationals living in Russia and linked to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian Federation.
“The data from the pretrial investigation conducted in Lithuania allow, with sufficient probability, an assumption that the sabotage attempts in Šiauliai were carried out under the direction of and in the interests of the GRU of the Russian Federation.
The information gathered also indicates that other individuals may belong to the above-mentioned organised terrorist group, unrelated to the attempted crimes in Šiauliai, who committed similar actions in the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
