WARSAW: Four Belarusians and two Poles were detained and charged with attempting to smuggle to Russia devices used to automate the production of integrated circuits, used, among others, in the assembly of combat drones, Polish prosecutors said.
Warsaw has been warning of Russian and Belarusian attempts to destabilize countries backing Ukraine after Russia invaded the country on February 24, 2022.
On Wednesday, Polish prosecutors said the suspects were detained on February 18 and charged with attempting to smuggle through Belarus strategically significant equipment, which is under sanctions and which could be used in the production of military technology.
“Violation of the provisions of the sanctions act is classified as a crime, punishable by imprisonment for a period of no less than three years,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Three suspects were placed in pretrial detention for a period of three months, while the remaining three were placed under police supervision, bail, and a ban on leaving the country.
“Earlier actions by officers of the National Revenue Administration helped thwart an attempt to smuggle a machine, which contributed to the disruption of potential supplies of military equipment to the troops of the Russian Federation operating in eastern Ukraine,” prosecutors said.
Poland charges six with trying to smuggle sanctioned equipment to Russia
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Poland charges six with trying to smuggle sanctioned equipment to Russia
UK defense minister suggests Putin’s ‘hidden hand’ behind Iran tactics
LONDON: UK Defense Minister John Healey suggested on Thursday that Russia was influencing Iran’s use of drone attacks in its war with the United States and Israel.
Healey said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” may be behind some of the tactics deployed by Tehran in the Middle East conflict, which started when the United States and Israel struck Iran on February 28.
He told reporters that officials were analyzing an Iranian-made drone that hit the UK’s Akrotiri air force base in Cyprus on March 1 “for any evidence of Russian or any other foreign components and parts.”
“We will update you and appropriately publish any findings from that when we’ve got them,” he said during a visit to Britain’s military headquarters in Northwood, near London.
“But I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics, potentially some of their capabilities as well, not least because one world leader that is benefiting from the sky high oil prices at the moment is Putin,” he added.
Russia is a close ally of Iran, with the two agreeing last year to help each other counter “common threats.”
US President Donald Trump said Saturday he had no indication Russia was supporting Iran in the war, but that if they were, it was not “helping much.”
Nick Perry, the British military’s chief of joint operations, told Healey there were “definitively” signs of a link between Russia and Iran, including Iran’s use of drones “as learned from the Russians.”
No one was injured when the drone hit a hangar at Akrotiri. British warplanes shot down a further two drones heading for the base the same day.
Guy Foden, a brigadier in the British army, briefed Healey that UK troops based at a military base housing international coalition troops in Irbil, Iraq, had helped shoot down two Iranian drones on Wednesday.
