Vilnius court continues terrorism trial as defendants deny links to Russian military intelligence

The Vilnius Regional Court on Friday resumed hearings in a terrorism case involving five defendants accused of sending explosive devices through parcel services, with all denying ties to Russia’s GRU intelligence agency, LRT reports.

Aleksandras Šuranovas, Daniilas Jencius, Vasilijus Kovačas, Vadymas Borsukas, and Eldaras Salmanovas—ranging in age from 23 to 69—face charges of committing a terrorist act and participating in an organised terrorist group. Šuranovas holds Lithuanian citizenship, Salmanovas is Russian, Jencius has dual Russian-Lithuanian citizenship, while Borsukas and Kovačas are Ukrainian nationals.

During the session, witness Jelena Guseva, Salmanovas’s partner, testified that a Russian acquaintance, Viačeslavas Aliochinas, had asked her to send a parcel from Estonia to Latvia five years ago. She claimed she paid for the shipment but never saw its contents, which prosecutors allege contained four neck massagers hiding incendiary devices. These were later repackaged in Vilnius and sent to Poland and the UK, where three detonated.

Defendant Kovačas denied terrorist ties, stating he transported a parcel from Riga to Vilnius in 2022 at the request of a friend, Nikolajus Grigorjevičius, who claimed the intended recipients had already left Latvia. Kovačas said he received no payment and left the parcel in an unlocked car before it disappeared. When asked about potential GRU connections, he replied, “I maintain no ties with anyone.”

Prosecutor Šarūnas Astrauskas questioned why Kovačas’s phone contained contacts linked to Andrejaus Baburovas, a former Russian submarine captain. The trial continues as investigators probe alleged GRU involvement in the plot.