According to Daily Mail, counter terrorism police are now investigating the substation fire amid claims it could be a Russian sabotage attack. Russia has long acted as though it’s at war with the West, conducting assassinations, arson, and sabotage even as the West continues to operate under peacetime norms. Russian intelligence has been implicated in multiple high-profile attacks, including assassinating Chechen dissidents abroad, a 2018 nerve agent attack in the UK that killed British national Dawn Sturgess, and an assassination plot against Germany’s Rheinmetall CEO this year. Russian-backed arson and sabotage have also targeted sites in Poland, Slovakia, the Baltic states, Bulgaria, and the UK.
Emergency services were called to the scene at 11:23 p.m. on 20 March. A transformer caught fire at the substation, prompting the evacuation of around 150 people from nearby homes. Ten fire engines and about 70 firefighters are currently working at the site.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks reported a major power outage in the area, affecting over 16,300 homes.
Due to the outage, Heathrow Airport will remain closed for the entire day. At least 120 flights already in the air had to be diverted.
Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world, handling around 1,300 takeoffs and landings daily. The shutdown is expected to disrupt airline operations globally. In a statement on its website and social media, Heathrow Airport advised all passengers to avoid traveling to the airport.
Earlier, Polish prosecutors have charged a Belarus citizen with setting fire to a large building supply store in Warsaw, revealing the attack was carried out on orders from Russian intelligence services.
According to Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office, key findings in the case established the suspect as the perpetrator and confirmed his connections to Russian intelligence. Poland’s current investigation extends beyond the Warsaw incident to include arson attacks on other large retail stores across Poland and Central and Eastern European countries, including Lithuania. On 9 August 2024, Poland and Lithuania established a Joint Investigation Team to coordinate investigations in both countries.
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