Lithuanian prosecutors have accused Russian military intelligence of orchestrating an arson attack on an IKEA store in Vilnius in May, the Prosecutor General's Office said on 17 March.

The incident is being treated as an act of terrorism, with the case now proceeding to court. According to Arturas Urbelis of the Prosecutor General's Office, two Ukrainian nationals, both under 20 years old, carried out the arson. One was a minor at the time of the offence, and one suspect is currently in Polish custody.

The investigation found that the suspects met in Warsaw and agreed to target shopping centres in Lithuania and Latvia in exchange for €10,000 and a BMW. 

Authorities believe the attacks were intended to instil fear and pressure the European Union and other countries to reduce support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.

Lithuanian officials also linked Russian intelligence to a fire in May at Warsaw’s Marywilska 44 market hall, which contained about 1,400 service points rented by more than 700 people.

"Lithuanian prosecutors have declared that Russian special services are behind the arsons in Vilnius and Warsaw. As per our suspicions," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media.

Tusk also said Russia’s recruitment of Ukrainian nationals to carry out the attacks was "exceptional perfidy."

Earlier this year, a court in Wrocław, Poland, sentenced Ukrainian citizen Serhii S. to eight years in prison for planning sabotage in Poland on behalf of Russian intelligence. In January 2024, he accepted a commission to set fire to multiple locations in Wrocław.

Polish investigators say they have evidence of several groups operating in Poland that have been, and are, planning acts of sabotage in the country. Some members of these groups have been arrested and face charges in around 30 investigations countrywide.

Last week, Poland's prosecutors charged a Belarusian national with setting fire to a DIY supermarket in Warsaw.