Russia behind ammo depot blasts in Czechia back in 2014 – police

Czech law enforcers believe enough evidence has been collected proving Russia’s intelligence agency has masterminded the explosions at an ammunition depot in Vrbetice, aiming to undermine defense assistance to Ukraine.

That’s according to Brno Daily citing CTK, Ukrinform reports.

No prosecution is expected to be launched, however, as all suspects are in Russia, and the latter has refused to cooperate in the case.

Security Information Service chief Michal Koudelka said he found it crucial that the information gathered by the Czech counterintelligence about the responsibility of GRU – Russia’s defense intelligence agency – had been confirmed in the case of the Vrbetice explosions.

The police stated that the Russian military intelligence was involved in the Vrbetice explosions and the deaths of Czech nationals, adding that this was part of a long-term pattern of subversive activity in the EU and Ukraine.

According to the police unit spokesman, the Russian military intelligence had the means to cause the explosions, its people came to the Czech Republic for this purpose, and left immediately afterwards. The Czech police have established that the Russian intelligence also had detailed information about the stored commodities, their movement, and end users. The perpetrators of the Vrbetice blasts are members of a unit designed to carry out subversive operations abroad.

Law enforcers have learned that people using the aliases of Nikolai Popa and Ruslan Tabarov had planned to visit the Vrbetice depots. They were later identified as GRU agents Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, who are also suspected in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, UK.

Depot 16 in Vrbetice exploded on October 16, 2014, and the second one, Depot 12, on December 3 of the same year. Both warehouses were leased by the Ostrava-based Imex Group. Ammunition stored in the other warehouses was transported from Vrbetice to other locations.

Besides two deaths, the explosions caused more than CZK 1 billion in damage, according to the police.

The evidence of Russia’s involvement in the blasts sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries in 2021. The Czech Republic and Russia expelled dozens of embassy staff in mirror moves.