Lithuania says Russia was behind fire at IKEA furniture store

Lithuanian prosecutors believe that Russia is behind an arson attack on an IKEA furniture store in Vilnius last year.

Two people arrested are suspected of acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence, the public prosecutor's office of the EU country announced on Monday. No one was hurt in the overnight incident in May.

The two males in custody have Ukrainian citizenship and one is a minor. One of the two has been charged with carrying out a terrorist attack.

Prosecutors in Vilnius say the two suspects are said to have agreed at a secret meeting in Warsaw to set fire to shopping centres in Lithuania and Latvia for a reward of €10,000 ($10,919). They were also promised a car, which they later received.

One of the pair is being held in Poland, prosecutor Arturas Urbelis told Lithuanian media.

Lithuania and Poland are members of NATO and are close supporters of Ukraine, which has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for over three years. Both nations border the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

It is unclear why Ukrainian citizens would be working for the Russians.

The attacks had been planned over several months and the IKEA arson was carried out using an incendiary device with a time fuse.

"The organizer of these actions is Russia, (the suspects) are linked to the military secret service and the security forces," investigator Urbelis said.

One of the accused was arrested in Lithuania while trying to travel to Latvia by bus.

Prosecutors described a "terrorist group" and a long chain of middlemen who communicated via social media and encrypted channels. They then passed on instructions to the suspects.

Both the suspects and their middlemen are suspected of having a connection to criminal offences committed in Poland.

The Polish government has repeatedly accused the Russian secret service of being behind arson attacks and acts of sabotage in Poland.

Last May, for example, a major fire in Warsaw destroyed a shopping centre with around 1,400 shops. No one was injured, but more than 700 people lost their jobs.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X on Monday: "Dear allies, the investigation of the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office has confirmed our suspicions that responsible for setting fires to shopping centres in Vilnius and Warsaw are the Russian secret services."

He said it was important to remember how Russia operates ahead of any negotiations with Moscow over a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.

"Such is the nature of this state," Tusk added, referring to Russia.