On October 16, 2014, a deadly explosion at the Vrbetice ammunition depot in the Czech Republic resulted in two fatalities and significant damage. Four years later, Czech authorities implicated Russian military intelligence agents from GRU Unit 29155 in carrying out the sabotage, aimed at disrupting a weapons shipment bound for a Bulgarian arms dealer involved in Ukrainian and possibly Syrian arms trades. The Czech government expelled 18 Russian diplomats suspected of espionage and espionage cover, citing strong evidence from their security services. Notably, the suspect operatives Alexander Petrow and Ruslan Boschirow had also been identified in other hostile operations, including the 2018 Skripal poisoning case in the UK. The Russian government rejected the claims as politically motivated 'anti-Russian actions.' This incident contributed to deteriorating Czech-Russian relations, raising concerns over Russian participation in Czech energy projects and vaccine supplies. The Czech leadership emphasized joint constitutional handling of the matter, with cross-party support for a firm response, highlighting the incident as a case of state terrorism.

On October 16, 2014, a deadly explosion at the Vrbetice ammunition depot in the Czech Republic resulted in two fatalities and significant damage. Four years later, Czech authorities implicated Russian military intelligence agents from GRU Unit 29155 in carrying out the sabotage, aimed at disrupting a weapons shipment bound for a Bulgarian arms dealer involved in Ukrainian and possibly Syrian arms trades. The Czech government expelled 18 Russian diplomats suspected of espionage and espionage cover, citing strong evidence from their security services. Notably, the suspect operatives Alexander Petrow and Ruslan Boschirow had also been identified in other hostile operations, including the 2018 Skripal poisoning case in the UK. The Russian government rejected the claims as politically motivated 'anti-Russian actions.' This incident contributed to deteriorating Czech-Russian relations, raising concerns over Russian participation in Czech energy projects and vaccine supplies. The Czech leadership emphasized joint constitutional handling of the matter, with cross-party support for a firm response, highlighting the incident as a case of state terrorism.