Russia Planned Terrorist Attacks on Civilian Aircraft in Canada and the United States - WSJ
Kyiv • UNN
Western intelligence agencies discovered incendiary devices sent via DHL as part of a covert Russian operation. Four suspects are detained in Poland who were planning terrorist attacks on civilian aircraft.
Russia has been testing the possibility of organizing terrorist attacks on board passenger planes during their flights from Europe to the United States and Canada. During the investigation, incendiary devices were found, and suspects were detained. The Wall Street Journal reports, writes UNN.
Details
It is noted that Western intelligence services found two incendiary devices that were sent via DHL. In their opinion, this was part of a covert operation by Russia to provoke fires on board civilian aircraft. Similar devices went off in July at DHL's logistics centers in Leipzig (Germany) and Birmingham (UK).
The fire incidents triggered an international manhunt. Investigators and intelligence agencies in Europe found out that the "explosive parcels" contained electric massagers filled with a flammable magnesium-based substance. Investigators concluded that they were part of a larger conspiracy by Russian intelligence services,
The organizers of the bombings in Germany and Britain were being searched for across Europe. Poland's National Prosecutor's Office detained four people and accused them of participating in sabotage or terrorist acts in favor of foreign intelligence. Investigators did not disclose their names or nationalities. The search for at least two more people involved is ongoing.
The prosecutor's office confirmed that the purpose of the explosions was to test the channel for the transmission of such parcels, which were planned to be sent to the United States and Canada.
In response to a query from The Wall Street Journal, Russian dictator Putin's spokesman, Peskov, said that the Kremlin had "never heard any official accusations" of Russian involvement. He characterized the publication as "traditional unfounded insinuations by the media.
