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TNT in the Tins: Polish Security Exposes Russian Sabotage Using Canned Goods
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Polish security services have uncovered a possible Russian military intelligence operation involving preparations for terrorist attacks using drones and explosives disguised as canned corn. Polskie Radio 24 reported the case on October 2, citing Gazeta Wyborcza, which in turn referred to findings from the National Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Security Agency (ABW).
According to investigators, in the summer of 2024, a 27-year-old Ukrainian citizen, Vladyslav D., who lived in Katowice, traveled three times from Poland to Lithuania while carrying out tasks assigned to him via Telegram by a user with the nickname “Warrior.” Polish intelligence believes this alias refers to the headquarters of Russia’s GRU.
During one mission, he dug up “cans of corn” hidden in a Kaunas cemetery and, on orders, transported two of them to Poland, hiding them near the A2 highway. Later, Lithuanian counterintelligence discovered the stash and determined the cans contained tightly packed explosives. Experts estimated the power of each can at the equivalent of 1.4 kilograms of TNT.
In Poland, however, the hidden cans disappeared. “We don’t know exactly what was in the missing cans. We cannot state definitively that they also contained explosives, although that conclusion seems obvious,” Gazeta Wyborcza quoted a source in ABW as saying.
Investigators also established that this was not the only operation. In another case, Vladyslav D. delivered parcels to Alexander S., a Lithuanian saboteur linked to the GRU. Those packages were later sent via courier companies in Vilnius. Three shipments caught fire during transport—in a truck near Warsaw, at Leipzig airport, and at a warehouse in Birmingham. A fourth was intercepted by Polish police.
Although no casualties were reported, authorities warned that disaster was narrowly averted. The shipments transported by air were considered especially dangerous, as an explosion on board could have caused a plane crash.
Vladyslav D. was eventually arrested in an apartment in Katowice that he shared with his partner. “His recruitment is a classic example of GRU methods. The Russians look for individuals from former Soviet states with criminal records or financial difficulties,” ABW officers said.
Commenting on the wider threat, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned: “This is not just hybrid attacks—there is a hybrid war going on in Europe. I think we have to focus on cyber attacks and risks of sabotage.”
During the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen on October 2, she emphasized that the only true experts in countering Russian drones are Ukrainians, adding that Europe had underestimated the scale of the threat from Moscow.
⚡️ Denmark’s PM Mette Frederiksen: “This is not just hybrid attacks — there is a hybrid war going on in Europe.”
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) October 2, 2025
She said the only real experts in countering Russian drones are Ukrainians, and that everyone underestimated how big a threat Russia really is. pic.twitter.com/tuhLsxjway
Earlier, it was reported that Russia rolled out a new propaganda campaign across Europe under the slogan “Russia is not my enemy.” Posters and stickers carrying the message have appeared in Romania, France, and Italy, attempting to portray Moscow as a peacemaker instead of an aggressor.
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