00:0020 Russian agents arrested in mass casualties plot on U.S. flights unseen since September 11th.
00:07Before dawn at Leipzig airport in July 2024, a delayed cargo flight and a smoldering parcel
00:13may have spared Europe from a mid-air catastrophe. Within 48 hours, three separate fires broke out
00:19in cargo shipments at hubs in Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom. It set off a cross-border
00:25investigation that would eventually point to Russian military intelligence and an alleged
00:30plan to test methods for bringing down cargo planes en route to North America. Germany's
00:35domestic intelligence chief Thomas Haldenwang later told lawmakers that it was just luck
00:40that the package caught fire on the ground. A delayed flight out of Leipzig meant the device
00:45never made it into the air, avoiding a potential disaster over Europe. In each case, the blaze
00:51was contained on the ground. As security agencies compared notes, investigators in Germany, Poland,
00:57and the U.K. traced all three suspect parcels to Vilnius, Lithuania. Lithuanian officials discovered
01:03that the devices contained electronic timers, ignition systems, and nitromethane, a highly
01:09flammable liquid used in explosives. Polish prosecutor Katarzyna Kalo-Jaszewska said the group's
01:16objectives went beyond Europe. They wanted to test sending such parcels, which were ultimately
01:22heading to the United States and Canada. By November 2024, European intelligence agencies
01:29publicly accused Russia's GRU military intelligence service of directing the plot. Poland's security
01:35agency said the incidents were initiated and coordinated by Russian special services, while
01:40Lithuanian prosecutors said the operation was orchestrated by individuals associated with Russian
01:46military intelligence. An investigation by the outlet V-Square reported that the network was
01:52managed by the GRU using Telegram, where handlers, using aliases such as Jarek Depas and V-Warrior,
01:59coordinated operatives in multiple countries. According to Western officials cited by the
02:04Wall Street Journal and CNN, the July fires were considered test runs for a broader plan to target
02:09cargo aircraft headed to North America. The four packages shipped from Vilnius on July 19 via DHL and
02:16DPD networks were built into massage pillows with electronic timers and magnesium-based incendiary
02:22charges. In response, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration introduced additional screening
02:28rules for certain cargo flown from Europe and former Soviet states, and Transport Canada adopted similar
02:34measures. Ken McCallum, Director General of the UK's domestic security service MI5, warned in October
02:402024 that Britain had seen arson, sabotage, and more dangerous actions conducted with increasing
02:47recklessness following UK support for Ukraine. For aviation regulators, intelligence services, and cargo
02:53operators, the stakes are long-term, closing security gaps in global freight systems, deterring state-backed
02:59sabotage below the threshold of open war and preventing the next test from becoming a successful attack
03:05over the Atlantic.
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