Authorities in Lithuania are refusing to rule out the possible involvement of Putin’s intel operatives after a DHL cargo jet smashed into a house in the country, killing one person.
The Kremlin has reportedly launched a bizarre campaign of terror, targeting DHL across Europe, including allegedly placing incendiary devices hidden in packages that were due to be loaded into cargo planes operated by the courier company, which was founded in San Francisco.
The Boeing jet which crashed Monday started its journey in Leipzig, Germany. The city has been the site of three previous attacks apparently orchestrated by Kremlin agents. In July, on three separate days, fires broke out in packages bound for a DHL cargo plane due to leave the city.
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On Monday, the DHL cargo plane lost control on approach to Vilnius Airport in the Lithuanian capital and—just a mile from the runway—skidded through a wooded area before smashing into the two-storey building at around 5.30am local time Monday (22:30 Sunday EST).
One person, a male crew member, died. The two pilots and all of the residents in the house survived. “‘I saw a fireball,” a witness told an AP reporter at the scene. “My first thought is that a world (war) has begun.”
Lithuanian Police Commissioner General Arunas Paulauskas said investigators are considering the possibility of a terrorist act. “This is one of the versions that must be studied and checked,” he said.
The incident follows suspicious blazes that targeted courier companies in Poland, Germany and the U.K. as part of a Europe-wide campaign against infrastructure which Western intelligence agencies believe is being orchestrated by Russian operatives.
Polish authorities went on the record to confirm that they believed foreign intelligence saboteurs were involved in the bizarre firebomb plots. Prosecutor Katarzyna Calów-Jaszewska said earlier this month that bad actors had been involved in sending parcels containing hidden explosives and dangerous materials.
As far as the most recent incident goes, outgoing Lithuanian prime minister, Ingrida Simonyte, has urged people not to point the finger.
“In the current geopolitical context, we look at every incident differently than before, but I ask you to refrain from jumping to conclusions,” she said in a statement on social media.
The police commissioner said it was too early to say what brought the plane down but said it was more likely something less nefarious than a Russian attack. Reports so far suggest there was no evidence of an explosion before the plane went down.
