Fake cosmetics, massage pillows and sex toys were among the key components in a suspected Russian sabotage plot behind last summer’s parcel-bomb explosions in Europe, it has been revealed.
The incendiary devices found at courier depots in Britain, Germany and Poland are thought to have been test runs for a covert operation to start fires on planes flying to North America.
According to the first reported details from the Polish investigation, crude homemade explosives containing highly reactive magnesium were hidden inside massage pillows and packed into parcels.
The chemicals were ignited by pre-timed detonators adapted from cheap Chinese gadgets used to track items. Flammable gel hidden inside tubes of fake cosmetics then enhanced the explosions, a source with knowledge of the Polish investigation told Reuters.
“The proceedings in this case concern criminal activities inspired by Russia’s GRU,” the source said, referring to Moscow’s foreign military intelligence unit.
The findings provide a rare insight into how suspected Russian sabotage campaigns are executed on the ground.
Arson and cyberattacks
Last October, European security chiefs made public details of the parcel fires, condemning them as part of a “hybrid war” being waged by Russia to destabilise countries supporting Ukraine. Tactics used in the attacks include arson and cyberattacks.
The parcels, which caught fire in warehouses but caused no injuries, were seen as a dry run for a future Russian plot to detonate similar packages in mid-air on cargo flights bound for the US and Canada.
The detonations occurred on July 19, 20 and 21 in Birmingham, Leipzig in Germany and near the Polish capital Warsaw.
Poland said it had arrested four people in November who allegedly belonged to the sabotage cell, charging them with participating in sabotage or terrorist operations on behalf a foreign intelligence agency.
EU security officials warned the alleged attacks were typical of Moscow’s foreign intelligence methods. Russian handlers often recruit local criminals, providing instructions via the Telegram messaging app and paying operatives up to a few thousand euros per job. The bomb ingredients were cheap, widely available to buy in shops and often difficult to detect.
The Kremlin rejected the allegations of a Russian sabotage or hybrid warfare campaign. “We know nothing about it,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. “This is just more fake news or a manifestation of blind Russophobia.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov – PAVEL BEDNYAKOV/SPUTNIK/Shutterstock
Western officials have repeatedly warned of an escalating threat from Russia, which is seen as attempting to deter support for Ukraine. There have been multiple reports of mysterious fires at businesses linked to the West’s backing of Kyiv, as well as a spate of sabotage attempts on undersea cables.
Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, warned last year that the GRU was trying to cause “mayhem” in Britain, conducting “arson, sabotage and more dangerous actions” with “increasing recklessness” since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A fourth parcel, which failed to detonate, was seized at a Warsaw depot, allowing investigators to examine its contents.
‘Warrior” and “Mary”
Polish investigators allege Vladyslav D, a 27-year-old Ukrainian, played a central role in the European dry run, acting on instructions from a GRU handler known only as “Warrior”.
On July 18, 2024, he allegedly drove from his home in southern Poland to the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, where he collected over a dozen items from the trunk of a parked car. He then drove to Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, where he boxed up four packages, each with a pillow plus a few of the cosmetics tubes and sex toys. Before sealing them, he activated the pre-timed detonators, the source said.
The following day, he allegedly handed the parcels over to a man – codename “Mary” – who posted them.
Vladyslav was arrested in Poland in early August and charged with performing terrorist acts on behalf of Russian intelligence. He has denied the charges.
Polish prosecutors have also accused a Russian national, 44-year-old Alexander, of being part of the same Polish sabotage cell helping to gather information on parcel-processing methods for North American-bound cargo planes. Alexander was extradited from Bosnia in February. He has claimed to have had no knowledge of any plot to target depots or cargo planes.
