A secret struggle to gain custody of Russian operative Yaroslav Mikhailov, who is suspected of coordinating attacks last year that caused air cargo packages to burst into flames across several locations in Europe, is taking place between Western security services and Russia's spy agencies, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
Security officials and investigators from five Western nations say that Mikhailov is suspected of helping to design the packages rigged with timers and a flammable magnesium compound used in the plot, directing the operation from within Europe and using a fake passport to flee to Azerbaijan.
The heads of all three Russian intelligence services — the FSB, SVR, and GRU — have been directly involved in pressuring Azerbaijan to return Mikhailov to Russia rather than grant an extradition request from Poland.
This intervention by Moscow's intelligence services demonstrates the importance they attach to trusted proxies who are playing an increasingly crucial role in Russia's "hybrid warfare" campaign against Western adversaries, officials told The Washington Post.
U.S. and Western security officials called the air cargo attack the most reckless and potentially dangerous plot that Russia has attempted in an ongoing campaign of sabotage, arson, and assassination aimed at punishing nations supporting Ukraine.
Poland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Lithuania have lobbied Baku in an attempt to prevent Mikhailov's return to Russia, officials said.
In the air cargo operation in July last year, the rigged packages escaped detection in Lithuania and were delivered to depots in Germany, Poland, and England, where they caused fires before being put out, but caused no injuries.
Officials in Berlin, however, said the time-set devices were powerful enough to cause a plane to plunge from the sky had they detonated during flights.
Mikhailov, who previously faced criminal charges in Russia for smuggling, "represents a new breed of Russian operative recruited by the GRU from criminal organizations for their contacts and capabilities," a senior European security official told The Washington Post.
The extent of Russia's reliance on Mikhailov to coordinate the parcel plot and attempts to extract him from Azerbaijan have not been previously reported.
A senior European investigator described him as "the most important" operative still at-large because of his role as a conduit between GRU agents in Russia and low-level recruits in Europe for the plot.
At least 20 suspects are facing charges in Lithuania and Poland for involvement in the scheme.
Azerbaijan has so far rebuffed all demands for Mikhailov — which has led to him spending much of the past year in a state of limbo, not formally detained but under surveillance and not permitted to leave the country, officials said.
Experts said Russia's attempts to gain custody of Mikhailov and prevent damaging disclosures that might accompany a trial in Europe were likely reasons for Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent efforts to mend ties with Baku.
Russia has submitted its own extradition request, officials said, describing Mikhailov as a wanted criminal, a technique that Moscow has used in other cases to seek custody of operatives.
Russia has issued blanket denials of involvement in attacks on Europe, including the 2024 air cargo plot, even while warning Western governments of unspecified consequences for their backing of Ukraine.
Russia tapped criminal networks to reconstitute capabilities that were severely reduced when European governments expelled hundreds of suspected Russian intelligence officers after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A year later, the GRU set up a new unit to oversee operations against Ukraine's Western allies, officials said.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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