"The pre-trial investigation established who was involved in the Ikea arson, and that they were young people, under 20 years old. One of them, who is being brought to court, was a minor at the time. Both perpetrators are citizens of Ukraine," Prosecutor Artūras Urbelis told a press conference on Monday.
The underage Ukrainian "acted in the interests of the military structures and security services of the Russian Federation," the prosecutor said.
He will be tried in Lithuania while another suspect will be handed over to Poland, according to Urbelis.
"[He was] in an organised terrorist group established in advance with the aim of committing terrorist crimes in Lithuania and Latvia, together with other persons who are the subject of separate pre-trial investigations," Urbelis said, adding that the attack had been planned for several months.
Located less than a kilometre away from Vilnius Airport, the warehouse of the Ikea store was set ablaze on 9 May. The store was not operational for one day.
The suspect allegedly arrived at the Ikea shopping centre on the evening of 8 May and hid an incendiary mechanism with a time bomb in one of the departments, which was activated on 9 May at around 4 a.m.
After filming the fire and sending out the video, the defendant, together with another person, following instructions, immediately disposed of the remaining electric igniters, the clothes worn at the scene and other small items. The following night they left in a car set for them for Warsaw, where the defendant received a BMW 530 as a reward for the task he had done, the Prosecutor’s Office said.