The team of American President Joe Biden has sent a message to Vladimir Putin, informing him that they have uncovered a plan by Russian intelligence services to introduce incendiary devices into transport planes heading to the USA.
The Biden administration warned Putin to take measures for Russian intelligence services to abandon this plan, as reported by New York Times.
Moscow was suspected of being behind the incidents in July 2024 where several packages sent by individuals caught fire in warehouses in Germany and the United Kingdom. The fires could have led to the downing of an aircraft if such an incident had occurred during flight.
The American press reported that these operations, which were in the preparatory phase for similar plots targeting the United States and Canada, alarmed officials at the White House.
The danger was exacerbated by the fact that passenger planes sometimes carry smaller packages in the open space in the cargo hold, as reported by the American newspaper.
American espionage obtained recordings of discussions from August 2024 between GRU officers, the Russian military intelligence service, finalizing details of the plan.
The White House was not sure if the Russian president was aware of the plan, so they warned Putin through a direct communication channel to stop the operation.
At least five high-ranking Russian officials, including the head of the foreign intelligence service Sergey Naryshkin, the FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov, and presidential advisor Yuri Ushkov, were contacted to ensure that Putin received the warning from the Biden administration.
The warning emphasized that if sabotage caused mass casualties in the air or on the ground, the United States would hold Russia accountable for "terrorism activation." The White House did not specify what the US response would have been, but they indicated that the shadow war between Washington and Moscow had escalated to new levels.
Russia has long engaged in a wide range of aggressive behaviors and sabotage towards Europe, also using cyber capabilities to target civilian infrastructure.
Up to 100 incidents that occurred in 2024 on the continent could have been caused by Russia, said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský in December.
T.D.