Czech police: Explosions at weapons depots were organized by GRU operatives

Investigators from the National Center for Combating Organized Crime of the Czech Republic have concluded the investigation into the explosions at ammunition depots that occurred in 2014 in the Zlin region, VrbÄ›tice. According to the investigation results, it has been confirmed that the explosions were organized by agents of the GRU, the military intelligence of Russia, with the aim of preventing the supply of weapons and ammunition to Syria or Ukraine, where Russia is conducting military operations. However, despite this, the police were forced to close the case because Russia refused to cooperate with Czech investigators. This information was reported by Irozhlas.

The police have proven that the explosions at both depots in Vrbětice were carried out by employees of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, known as the GRU. Their goal was to prevent the delivery of weapons and ammunition to regions where the Russian army was operating. This was stated by the director of the National Center for Combating Organized Crime, Jiri Mazanek. Moreover, the explosions were not isolated sabotage acts but part of a long-term campaign by Russian military intelligence on the territory of the European Union and Ukraine. Although the report of the National Center for Combating Organized Crime does not specify names, investigators previously named GRU officers Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin as the main suspects. The head of the Czech counterintelligence BIS, Michal Kudelka, also mentioned them.

"The main perpetrators were Chepiga and Mishkin. We also know how many Russians were involved in the sabotage and how they moved, but I won't talk about that," Kudelka said in an interview with the media.

Mazanek stated that the suspects are in Russia, and the Russian authorities refused to comply with Czech demands through international legal assistance, citing that processing the Czech request could harm the sovereignty, public order, and important interests of the Russian Federation. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain the necessary information about the actions of Russian intelligence services.

"The possibilities of obtaining additional evidence in the Czech Republic or in countries that have fulfilled Czech requests for legal assistance are exhausted. As a result, the police department cannot obtain additional information that would allow initiating criminal prosecution, and for this reason, it has decided to suspend the case," he added.