Czech police still believe that Russia was behind the explosions nearly ten years ago in ammunition warehouses in the Czech Republic, DPA reported, BTA reported.
Law enforcement considers it proven that employees of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) are responsible for the explosions, a representative of the specialized department of the law enforcement agencies for combating organized crime said today in Prague.
However, the investigation is not over. Because Moscow refuses to respond to the request for legal assistance, there is insufficient information to bring charges against specific individuals in Russia. The purpose of the foreign spies was to prevent the provision of weapons and ammunition to the places where the Russian army operates, said the specialized unit of the Czech police.
Law enforcement authorities in the Czech Republic are currently cooperating with colleagues from the UK, Ukraine and the US in the investigation. The explosions at the ammunition depot in Varbetice in the eastern Czech Republic took place in October and December 2014. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea earlier that year.
In the accidents, two people died, huge material damages were caused. The subsequent disposal and clearance of the remaining explosives took several years. In 2018, the Czech government under then-Prime Minister Andrej Babis made the allegations against Russia public. The Kremlin has categorically denied any involvement. Both countries expelled each other's diplomats. Russia has put the Czech Republic on its list of "enemy countries".