The Poles claim: Russian services are to blame for the explosive packages

Russian intelligence services are likely responsible for a series of packages that exploded in logistics warehouses across Europe, Polish prosecutors said Friday, in a case that officials say could have caused a plane disaster.

Western officials have previously said that Russia tried to destabilize Ukraine’s allies through sabotage. Explosions in logistics warehouses in Great Britain, Germany and Poland in July could have led to a serious escalation if the explosives had been detonated on the aircraft.

Security officials said the packages were part of a plot to detonate explosives on cargo flights bound for the United States and Canada.

“Evidence collected in the case points to a high probability that the acts of sabotage were inspired by Russian special services,” Polish prosecutor’s office spokesman Przemyslaw Nowak said in an emailed statement.

The Russian Embassy in Warsaw said the prosecutors’ claims were “baseless and unjustified” in response to questions from Reuters. Russia has previously indicated involvement.

Nowak said that the Polish authorities are looking for two Russian citizens and that they detained four Ukrainian citizens as part of the investigation.

Polish prosecutors said in October that they had detained approximately four people and were looking for the remaining two in connection with the packages, but did not disclose the nationalities of the accused persons.

Prosecutors said in October that they were investigating the role of “foreign intelligence agents,” but did not specifically mention Russia.

“Intensive activities are underway to identify the remaining individuals involved in the international group,” Nowak said in a statement sent Friday.

“These measures are undertaken in cooperation with the police services of other European Union member countries”.

He added that the exploding packages were sent from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.