Lithuania accuses Russian intelligence of orchestrating arson attack on IKEA warehouse in Vilnius

Lithuanian prosecutors have accused Russian intelligence services of organizing a May 2024 arson attack on an IKEA warehouse in Vilnius, according to a report by Delfi. Artūras Urbelis, chief prosecutor of the Organized Crime Investigation Department of Lithuania’s General Prosecutor’s Office, said the fire was set by two Ukrainian nationals under the age of 20.

“One of them, whom we are transferring for judicial examination, is a minor,” Urbelis explained. The accused is currently under arrest. He has been charged with committing a terrorist act, training for terrorist purposes, and the illegal possession of explosives.

According to Delfi, the other suspect is currently detained in a country neighboring Lithuania and will be tried there.

The fire broke out on the night of May 9, 2024, at the warehouse located on Vikingu Street in Vilnius. Deputy Chief of the Lithuanian Police Department Saulius Briginas reported that an incendiary device had been concealed among flammable goods in the warehouse before the shopping center closed. The flames spread across metal racks stocked with goods — including mattresses, tiles, furniture, and plastic bags. No casualties were reported as a result of the incident, but physical damage from the fire was evaluated at 485,519 euros (close to $530,000).

On May 21, just under two weeks after the incident, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that nine people suspected of sabotage had been detained in his country, and that some of them had participated in the IKEA warehouse arson.

“We assess this act as an act of terrorism, which caused serious consequences and could have caused them to individuals. There were more than 10 people, employees, in the premises where the explosive with a timer was placed,” Urbelis said.

According to investigators, the underaged suspect traveled to Warsaw in spring 2024, where he agreed to commit arson attacks on shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia in exchange for €10,000. Following the fire in Vilnius, he recorded a video of the blaze and was rewarded with a BMW 530. On March 13, he returned to Lithuania and retrieved funds from a hidden stash in preparation for another planned attack. The suspect headed toward Riga, but he was apprehended before reaching Latvia.

“The collected data allowed us to draw conclusions that the organizers of these actions are in Russia, and [they are] related to [the] military intelligence and security forces. The pre-trial investigation into the organization of this act is ongoing,” Urbelis said. “There’s a whole chain, there are organizers [...] intermediaries, and executors assigned to achieve specific goals. This is a multi-level system of giving instructions — very complex. We are facing a serious adversary who operates without rules, without laws.”

In May 2024, The New York Times, citing sources within U.S. intelligence, reported that Russian security services had intensified their use of small-scale sabotage operations across Europe, including arson attacks. The fire at the IKEA warehouse in Lithuania was specifically mentioned as an example of these activities.