Russia shows ‘willingness to cause mass casualties’ with airline parcels
Share:
Russia could orchestrate mass-casualty terrorist attacks in Europe in the next phase of their attacks on the West, a leading expert has warned. Chatham House Russia expert Keir Giles said innocent civilians are ‘likely’ to be victims in the nation’s ‘hidden war’ against European countries after they routinely backed Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022.
![[Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a video address to congratulate employees and veterans of the Russian Emergencies Ministry on their professional holiday, Rescue Worker's Day, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234326357-38a5.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
His stark warning follows the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accusing Russia of planning ‘acts of terrorism’ in the air against Poland and other countries six months after a parcel caught fire at a warehouse in Birmingham. Suspicious packages have also been found on cargo planes in Germany and Poland.
![[Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (not pictured) meet at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw, Poland, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236032988-cfa8.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
British intelligence services and the CIA have confirmed these so-called ‘field tests’ were facilitated by Russian services. Moscow has denied any involvement. Mr Giles told Metro: ‘Previously, Russia has sponsored terrorist movements which carried out armed attacks against European countries throughout the Cold War.
‘Now with these airline parcel plots, the willingness from Russia to cause mass casualties has returned. ‘Europe is bearing the brunt of these attacks. We should soon expect a surge in Russian state terrorist attacks across Europe. ‘They go calm at times when Russia is relatively content with how the war is going, and then they pick up when something has happened that Russia wishes to respond to.’.
