Russian Group Denies Role in European Bomb Hoaxes

Flight operations across Europe ground to a halt this week after a series of fake bomb threats forced diversions and evacuations. The chaos began with emails sent to Rome airports and quickly spread to airlines and media organizations in other countries. A Russian extremist group named as the likely sender has denied involvement, calling the attribution absurd.

The Male State, a misogynistic organization founded by Vladislav Pozdnyakov, responded to BBC Russian Service inquiries via Telegram. The group, which was banned in Russia in 2021, ridiculed the idea that it had emailed the warnings. A message from one of the group's accounts asked, "What Male State? Where have you seen it? It hasn't existed for many years?" The account further questioned whether journalists would contact President Putin if he signed a threat letter.

The initial hoax email was sent at 07:21 on Thursday to Aeroporti di Roma, the manager of Rome's airports. The message, written in flawless Italian, claimed that Male State fighters had planted explosives on two incoming flights as an attack on Italy's feminist regime. The originating email address appeared to be linked to state health services in Bogota, Colombia. Investigators have not yet confirmed if other nations received identical messages.

One of the targeted flights was diverted to France, while another was escorted into Rome by Italian Air Force jets. This was the second time this week that fighters were scrambled for such a task. No explosives were found on either aircraft. A source at the Rome airport company noted that such warnings are extremely unusual, citing a lack of similar incidents in recent years.

Threats continued on Friday, targeting a Ryanair flight from Rome to Lisbon and a Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome. The Prague plane was diverted to Venice. In Ireland, several high-profile media organizations received bomb threats, triggering evacuations. The Irish government described the events as a coordinated campaign of disruption. One warning made on Friday was delivered by phone rather than email.

Italy's La Stampa newspaper remains convinced of the group's responsibility, asking if it is acting as the regime's armed wing. The paper wrote that attacking and then denying the attacks is part of the Russian game plan. Bellingcat, an investigative group that studied the Male State in 2022, described the organization as a vocal online booster of the Russian invasion with a clear extremist far-right ideology. A Telegram channel linked to Pozdnyakov is filled with pro-Russian messaging about the war in Ukraine and European tensions.

Guido Crosetto, Italy's defense minister, warned on Thursday that those behind the incidents have an interest in fueling tensions. He referenced recent cyberattacks that raised supermarket fridge temperatures and destroyed produce, as well as disruptions to France's blood supply. Crosetto said he had been speaking about this hybrid threat to Europe for years. He stated that Italy's interest is to do the opposite and ensure the country's security.