Shafaq News/ Western officials believed Russian operatives may be attempting to target flights bound for the United States and Canada by smuggling incendiary devices onto passenger planes, following a series of suspicious incidents involving modified electronic massagers that ignited in logistics centers in Europe.

The incidents have raised alarm among European and North American security agencies about potential Russian espionage and sabotage operations on civilian infrastructure.

In July, two incendiary devices disguised as electronic massagers were shipped via DHL logistics centers, one located in Birmingham, England, and the other in Leipzig, Germany. Both devices exploded, causing fires that were quickly managed by local emergency teams. Although no injuries were reported, Polish officials revealed that the devices could have caused catastrophic damage had they ignited mid-flight.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Poland’s prosecutor's office reported that the group responsible aimed to test a secure transfer channel for sending explosive parcels to North America. Polish foreign intelligence chief Pawel Szota publicly linked the suspected operation to Russian actors, though the official statement from prosecutors did not directly name Russia as the orchestrator.

The devices, made from electronic massagers modified with a magnesium-based flammable substance, demonstrate a growing sophistication in alleged Russian sabotage efforts.

Intelligence officials, including Germany’s intelligence head Thomas Haldenwang, warned that such plots place civilian lives at risk and threaten the stability of Western nations. Haldenwang told German lawmakers that had the explosive device detonated mid-air, it would have caused a fatal crash.

In a statement, German foreign intelligence chief Bruno Kahl suggested that recent actions signify Russia's willingness to test the "red lines" of NATO and the West, amid heightened tensions due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. European officials have observed a concerning increase in sabotage attempts allegedly linked to Moscow.

These latest incidents follow other suspected acts of sabotage, including a warehouse fire in London at a Ukrainian-linked company in March and an August incident where a German military base’s drinking water was reportedly contaminated.