ECR Group: Russian sabotage in Lithuania and Poland needs strong, co-ordinated EU response

Following revelations by the Lithuanian prosecutor's office that Russian agents were behind the arson attacks on the IKEA shop in Vilnius on 9 May 2024 and the Warsaw market hall on 14 May 2024, ECR Members are calling for a unified response of the European Union against Russia.

ECR Foreign Affairs Coordinator and Polish MEP Adam Bielan (pictured) said: "The European Union cannot tolerate such belligerent actions against our member states. The Kremlin must understand that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. The EU must act decisively against Russian state terrorism against EU citizens and businesses. Showing weakness and hesitation in the face of this unacceptable aggressive hybrid warfare is not an option."

Lithuanian MEP Waldemar Tomaszewski added: "We must respond together by strengthening our internal security and defending ourselves against Kremlin aggression."

Lithuanian MEP Aurelijus Veryga stressed the need for coordinated action: "These acts of sabotage are a wake-up call for the EU. Russia is not only attacking Ukraine, it is also targeting EU territory with hybrid threats. We need closer co-operation between member states, more information sharing and a stronger defence against such attacks. The security of one is the security of all."

The ECR Group calls on the European Commission and the Council to urgently propose concrete measures to prevent further sabotage attacks, to improve the protection of critical infrastructure and to ensure that all those responsible—including those directing these operations from Moscow—are held accountable.

For the ECR Group, these attacks are not isolated incidents. They are part of a wider Kremlin strategy to destabilise European societies, intimidate citizens and test Europe's resolve. The ECR stands in full solidarity with Poland and Lithuania in the face of these outrageous provocations.

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