Russia hides explosives in sex toys, cosmetics for European sabotage - Reuters

Russia used counterfeit cosmetics, massage cushions, and sex toys to hide explosives. The homemade devices were made from chemicals, including highly reactive magnesium.

According to Reuters, these devices were concealed in cushions, which were packed together with cosmetics and sex toys.

Last summer, three such packages exploded at courier warehouses in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland.

According to a source, detonators adapted from cheap Chinese electronic devices, intended for finding lost items, were used to ignite the chemicals.

The explosion's effect was enhanced by tubes that appeared to be cosmetics but contained a gel with highly flammable compounds, including nitromethane.

"The proceedings, in this case, concern criminal activities inspired by Russia's GRU," the source said, referring to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

Reuters was the first to publish the details of this investigation, based on information from a person familiar with the Polish case, as well as interviews with more than a dozen European security officials.

This data provides a rare insight into how sabotage operations are carried out on the ground.

European security chiefs revealed information about the package explosions in October, calling them part of Russia's "hybrid warfare." According to them, Moscow is attempting to destabilize countries supporting Ukraine by using tactics of arson and cyberattacks.

The packages, which caught fire at warehouses, causing fires but not harming people, may have been a test for future Russian sabotage operations. According to security services, the goal was to detonate similar packages mid-flight on cargo flights to the US and Canada.

"With the war in Ukraine, these attacks have intensified; they became more frequent, more assertive," said Nicu Popescu, Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

He emphasized that such actions by Russia pose a real threat to citizens across the European Union.

Polish investigators claim that a Ukrainian named Vladyslav D., who lived in southern Poland, played a key role in European security, acting on instructions he received via Telegram from a GRU leader known to him only as "Warrior."

Earlier, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office charged three men accused of espionage on behalf of Russia. They hold both German and Russian citizenship.