Romania’s intelligence service alleges a Russia-coordinated network caused a September 14 fire near a state-owned weapons factory in Brasov, as part of a wider campaign targeting military production.
Romania’s prosecutors say two suspects in the September 14 fire in Brasov were tracked down and remanded in custody in Germany while allegedly preparing similar offences. The fire broke out at an industrial site near a state-owned weapons factory in the central Romanian city.
In an October 26 disclosure, Romania’s Intelligence Service said it believed a Russia-coordinated network was responsible for the fire, Al Jazeera said. The service alleged that the wider sabotage campaign targeted arms manufacturers and other sites of military and industrial interest.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, known as DIICOT, alleged that three people took part in the fire: two Belarusians and a Ukrainian, all living in European Union countries.
Romanian authorities say the alleged network forms part of a broader Russian campaign against European countries that support Ukraine. The intelligence service said the operations aim to intimidate those states, undermine their defence capabilities and weaken their contribution to European and regional security.
Describing how such networks recruit, the service said people are often approached on social media and first offered money for apparently harmless tasks, such as watching or photographing a target. The tasks can then become more serious, potentially involving vandalism, arson or murder. The service described this as a general recruitment pattern, rather than an account of how these three suspects were recruited.
There was no immediate Russian comment on Romania’s allegation. Russia has repeatedly denied similar accusations.
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DIICOT said the third suspect remained at large in Poland.
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