DISINFO: Czech authorities have no evidence of Russian involvement in Vrbětice explosion
SUMMARY
It is now clear that there is no evidence that Russian agents were in Vrbětice. The police revealed only circumstantial evidence that is insufficient for bringing charges. It is strange, then, that Czech authorities decided to start a diplomatic row with Russia based on insufficient evidence. It is clear that Czechia will suffer economically as its breweries and enterprises will suffer. In contrast, there is no doubt the Germans will be laughing.
RESPONSE
This disinformation message contains a recurring narrative claiming Czech authorities supposedly do not have conclusive evidence on Russia's involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice munitions depot explosion. The article is part of a wider smear campaign against Czechia that aims to deny and downplay the revelation in April 2021 that Russian secrets services were responsible for the explosion.
Contrary to the repeatedly made claim, there is overwhelming evidence that Russian secret service agents were involved in the 2014 Vrbětice munitions depot explosion, which killed two people. Belingcat revealed that agents from the GRU Unit 29155, including Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, the same individuals considered responsible for the attempted murder of Sergey Skripal in Salisbury in 2018, were in Czechia at the time of the explosion. An investigation by Czech authorities has established beyond doubt that GRU agents Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin were responsible for the explosion. The two travelled from Moscow to Prague a few days before the explosion using the same GRU-issued passports they would later use to travel to the UK in 2018 to poison Skripal. The findings of Czech authorities have been verified by an independent investigation conducted by Bellingcat, The Insider, Der Spiegel, and Respekt.cz.
The notion that Germans will be laughing while the Czech economy suffers is likely a reference to the possibility that Russian tourists will retreat from Czechia. In contrast, the Russo-German energy project Nord Stream 2 will most likely be successfully completed after the US waived sanctions against the project in May 2021. By insulting the Czech authorities as “useful idiots”, the insinuation is made that their actions undermine Czech interests, whereas Germany is increasing its economically beneficial ties to Russia.
Read similar cases of disinformation in the database claiming that the notion that GRU was involved in the 2014 Vrbětice explosion is fake, that the Czech investigation into Russian connection to 2014 explosions is insane, that the Vrbětice explosion is a game of intelligence services intended to hurt Czech interests and that Czechs could not make an objective investigation of the Vrbětice incident.