Bulgarians detained over Munich arson were part of GRU-linked group operating from Slovakia
A Bulgarian man and woman detained after a Sept. 3 arson attack in Munich were part of a group linked to Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency that was operating from Slovakia, according to a report by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , citing sources in the country’s security services. The incident involved two incendiary devices that were thrown from a passing car onto a…
Two Bulgarian nationals, a man and a woman, were apprehended in connection with an arson attack that occurred in Munich on September 3rd. The incident, which involved the deployment of incendiary devices on a construction site near the headquarters of Rohde & Schwarz and Helsing, a company that supplies drones to Ukraine's Armed Forces, was described by German authorities as the work of low-level recruits with amateur tactics.
The limited damage inflicted aligns with the suspects' inexperience. The same group had also plotted an arson attack on a Skyeton plant near Prešov, Slovakia, which manufactures reconnaissance drones for Ukraine, though the scheme was foiled. Detainees in Slovakia included a Latvian and a Ukrainian, while another Latvian was arrested in Hamburg.
German intelligence agencies suspect that both the Munich arson and an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport on August 4th are linked to Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU. The GRU's Special Activities Service is believed to be directing these operations, with a logistics network established across Europe. The Leipzig group was allegedly led by GRU officer Denis Smolyaninov.
These attacks aim to disrupt military aid to Ukraine and pressure European nations to diminish their support for Kyiv. Following the expulsion of Russian intelligence officers under diplomatic cover from multiple European countries due to various malactivities, the GRU has started recruiting operatives via Telegram and paying them with cryptocurrency.
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