Latvia's security service says 2 people set fire to a train and rail equipment for Russia

Latvia’s State Security Service says two people set fire to a train and key railway equipment in Russia’s interest

A train and some railway infrastructure were set on fire in August in Latvia by two people acting in Russia's interests, Latvia's State Security Service said Wednesday, the latest in a series of warnings by Western officials who say Russia is attacking critical infrastructure across Europe.

The security service said the two people set fire to the train and some railway relay cabinets — boxes that contain equipment to control train movements — and also filmed the attack. The video material was later sent to the people who commissioned the arson who used it for propaganda purposes to claim the fires were in Ukraine, the service said.

The arson in August is one of аt least 151 incidents of sabotage and malign activity across Europe tracked by The Associated Press and linked to Russia by Western officials since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Officials say a goal of the attacks is to undermine support for Ukraine, spread fear and discord in European societies and drain investigative resources. Russia often uses proxies for such attacks and some perpetrators say they have no idea they have been hired by Moscow.

In November, Polish officials said Russia's intelligence services were behind several incidents of sabotage on a rail line used to deliver aid to Ukraine.

In January, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said two combined heat and power plants supplying heat to almost half a million customers, as well as multiple wind and solar farms, were attacked by hackers “directly linked to the Russian services."