Romanian prosecutors on Monday indicted two Ukrainian nationals, aged 23 and 24, on charges of attempted acts of sabotage and complicity in attempted acts of sabotage in an alleged Russia-linked plot.
According to Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT, the suspects in October placed two incendiary parcels in the premises of Nova Post, a Ukrainian courier company operating between EU countries and Ukraine.
“There was a real risk that the site could have been destroyed by fire, potentially endangering national security, given that the office is located on the ground floor of a seven-storey residential building in a central, densely populated area of Bucharest,” DIICOT investigators said.
The accused, who are being placed in pre-trial detention, could face up to ten years in prison if found guilty.
The arrest of the two Ukrainians in October was carried out in coordination with the Polish authorities, who have also arrested six suspects in Poland.
The Romanian Intelligence Service, SRI said at that time that “Romania, along with other Eastern European states such as Poland and Moldova, continues to be the target of Russian aggression … whose main objective is to reduce support for Ukraine”.
Nova Post, the company targeted in the thwarted attack, is Ukraine’s largest courier service, providing a vital logistical link between Ukrainians living abroad and those remaining in the country.