Romania’s Intelligence Service has uncovered a sabotage network coordinated by Russian intelligence services that allegedly targeted the Carfil arms factory in Brașov and other military and industrial sites across the region, Romanian media reported.
The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) is investigating three foreign nationals, one Ukrainian and two Belarusians, over the planned sabotage operations. Two suspects were arrested in Germany, where they were preparing similar actions, while the third was located in Poland.
The network allegedly planned to set fire to the Carfil arms factory in Brașov in the middle of last month. According to information released by the Romanian Intelligence Service, the group was also responsible for a fire at an industrial site in Central Romania near the state-owned defense enterprise in September.
The intelligence service said the network was uncovered in cooperation with domestic and foreign partners. Evidence collected so far suggests its activities extended beyond Romania, as coordinators in Russia assigned the group targets across the region, including state-owned and private arms manufacturers and other sites of military and industrial interest.
“Coordinators in the Russian Federation assigned [the group] a wide range of targets in the region, including state-owned and private arms manufacturing facilities, as well as other sites of military and industrial interest,” the Romanian Intelligence Service said in a statement published on its website.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal has issued European Arrest Warrants for all three suspects, with the ruling made in their absence. Romanian authorities have requested their extradition and are taking steps to bring them to Romania, BTA reported.
Investigations conducted this year have also uncovered other attempted attacks against sites in Romania, including international military facilities and locations used to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The operations were intended to intimidate, damage defense capabilities and undermine the contribution of targeted countries to European and regional security, Digi24 reported.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that it carries out sabotage operations in Europe, Reuters reported.
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