The man, who is declared to have performed in the Russian army, seriously wounded himself after an explosive exploded in his hotel room. The French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has extended an investigation into ‘terrorist criminal conspiracy.’
A 26-year-old dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen, supposed of planning violent action in France, was taken into police possession on June 3, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) said, ensuring a report published in the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. The PNAT opened an inquiry into “terrorist criminal conspiracy,” under the purview of France’s domestic intelligence agency, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI).
The case, which could be the foremost of its kind in France since the beginning of the Russian-instigated war in Ukraine, was uncovered by chance after firefighters were called to minister to the man, who was seriously injured when an explosive device detonated in his hotel room in Roissy-en-France, the village where Paris Charles-de-Gaulle international airport is located. He was initially hospitalized before being interviewed while under DGSI custody.
“Initial findings at the location of the events led to the finding of products and materials intended for the production of explosive gadgets. One of these devices had burst,” the PNAT stated in a press release. According to a source close to the inquiry, cell phones used in the creation of spontaneous explosive devices were found, and tests carried out on the products showed the presence of ammonium nitrate, which can be utilised to make homemade bombs. The man, born in the Donbas, a territory of Ukraine currently occupied by the Russian army, accepted Russian citizenship a few years ago. He is thought to have combated in the Russian army for two years and recently arrived in France.
As the country celebrates three days of commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings, designated to last in Normandy – where US President Joe Biden, among others, was anticipated – the discovery of these incendiary devices and the suspect’s possible pro-Russian affiliation has led the PNAT to take over an inquiry that had initially been opened by the local prosecutor’s office.
The threat of pro-Russian attacks had been predicted by several European intelligence services, as the Financial Times announced on May 5. The British newspaper reported that four nations’ services had recently alerted their respective countries to the imminent risk of actions of sabotage directed by Russia, which is thought to have been stepping up its actions to carry out covert bombings, arson attacks and harm to infrastructure in several European countries.
