Romania Says It Has Identified Russian-Run Sabotage Network Behind September Industrial Fire

Romania's Intelligence Service announced on Monday that it had identified a sabotage network coordinated by Russia. The agency believes the network was responsible for a fire in September at an industrial site in central Romania, located close to a state-owned weapons company.

Romanian organized crime prosecutors said they are seeking the extradition of three suspects accused of involvement in the arson case. Two of them are Belarusian nationals who were apprehended in Germany, and the third is a Ukrainian who was detained in Poland.

According to the Intelligence Service, all three belonged to the Russian-coordinated network. The agency said the people directing it had assigned targets that included "state and private weapons production facilities, as well as other objectives of military and industrial interest."

Russia's embassy in Bucharest could not immediately be reached for comment outside business hours. Moscow has repeatedly denied similar accusations in the past.

Romania is a member of both the European Union and NATO, and it shares a land border of more than 600 km (370 miles) with Ukraine. Centrist President Nicusor Dan has said the country is a target of a hybrid war that Russia is waging to destabilize nations supporting Kyiv.

Dan has said these attacks take many forms. They include drone incursions into Romanian airspace, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, acts of sabotage and attacks on cargo vessels near Romanian waters.

Romania is not the only NATO member affected. A year ago, Poland and Romania detained eight people suspected of taking part in a Russian plan to send exploding parcels to Ukraine.

This month, Dan accused Russia of escalating its attacks on NATO's eastern flank after a series of drone strikes on cargo vessels in the Black Sea. At least eight cargo ships have been hit off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria over the past three weeks, and some 34 sailors are reported dead or missing.