Charges are being brought on three counts: terrorist act, preparation for terrorist crime, and illegal handling of explosives, says chief prosecutor Arturas Urbelis according to public service company LRT. The arson attack took place on May 9 last year and targeted an Ikea store outside the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
The two people being prosecuted are under 20 years old and one of them is a minor. Both are Ukrainian citizens. One is being held in Lithuania and the other in Poland.
The organizer behind these actions is Russia. It is linked to military intelligence, to security forces, says Urbelis.
Timed bomb
The prosecuted individuals are said to have been contacted through social media and promised a reward in the form of a large sum of money and a car. A timed incendiary bomb was placed in the store, which was ignited after closing.
We do not believe that this target was chosen by chance, says the prosecutor according to the newspaper Lrytas, where he points to Ikea group's expressed support for Ukraine during the Russian large-scale invasion.
One of the individuals was arrested during a bus trip on the way to Riga a few days after the fire in Vilnius.
Reward of 10,000
The person being held in Lithuania is suspected of having traveled to Poland in the spring of last year to plan the act.
"During a secret meeting in Warsaw, he and another person agreed to set fire to and blow up shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia for a reward of 10,000 euros", writes the prosecutor's office in a statement, writes AFP.
The person being held in Poland is suspected, together with a larger group of people, of having been part of a Russian spy ring. The suspects and various intermediaries can also be linked to crimes in Poland, according to the prosecutor.
The purpose of the attack plans is suspected to have been to intimidate and undermine support for Ukraine.
