A series of flammable air freight packages sent via DHL from several European countries is the work of the Russian secret services, the Polish public prosecutor office says. In Poland, 5 Ukrainians and one Russian are in custody for it – and will likely be charged with terrorism – while the latest arrests were made in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, a Ukrainian and a Dutch national were both recruited through the mobile message app Telegram to send a package by DHL courier to the United States and Canada, the Dutch public prosecutor office announced on 20 June 2025. But according to the office, they both likely had no knowledge they were working for what seems to be the Russian intelligence services. They just wanted to make some quick money (about EUR 500 to 600). Both men were arrested in March, but let go as the public prosecutor dropped the charges.
Sabotage by Russia
The National Coordinator office against Terrorism and for Security (NCTV) of the Netherlands just warned a week ago that Russia is recruiting people to sabotage assets in European countries. The authorities believe the Ukrainian and Dutch men were used to send a test package, containing some shirts and socks, and without any flammable material. Despite this, the Netherlands customs intercepted the package before it could be loaded on board a plane to North America. Why NL customs had suspicions has not been shared.
But last summer, several mysterious packages were sent by DHL courier. At least four contained flammable material. One started to burn in a depot in Birmingham, United Kingdom, another at the airport of Leipzig, Germany, and a third at a transport company in Warsaw, Poland. A fourth package with flammable material was also found in Warsaw, but did not ignite.
Russia’s answer to supporting Ukraine
Several European governments and authorities have already stated that if these packages would ignite in the air, it would very likely lead to a severe air crash. Russian military intelligence service GRU and foreign intelligence service SVR are blamed by the Europeans, which think it is Russia’s answer to European and North American support for Ukraine. The latter has been fighting a full-scale Russian invasion since 24 February 2022. | © Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Featured photo: AI generated, made with Adobe Firefly