Aleksei Kolosovsky, a former taxi driver from Krasnodar, played a key role in organizing Russian sabotage operations in Europe. He was responsible for recruiting operatives and arranging explosive materials and, as The New York Timesreports, may now be seeking a way out of Russia.
In the summer of 2024, a series of sabotage incidents occurred across Europe: parcels exploded in logistics and courier warehouses in the United Kingdom and Germany; an IKEA store in Vilnius was set on fire; and a shopping center on Marywilska Street in Warsaw was torched. Western officials blamed Russia for the attacks, with 42-year-old Kolosovsky allegedly playing a central role in coordinating them.
Kolosovsky still resides in Krasnodar. He is not a formal intelligence officer but, as The New York Times describes him, more of a “service provider” closely cooperating with Russian military intelligence.
According to two sources cited by The New York Times, he first came to the attention of Western security services after two arson attacks in May 2024. On May 8, a Ukrainian teenager, Danylo Bardadym, planted a time-delayed incendiary device in the mattress section of an IKEA store in Vilnius. The device ignited in the early hours of May 9 — a date prosecutors say was not chosen at random. Three days later, a large wholesale and retail center on Marywilska Street in Warsaw went up in flames.
A court convicted three Ukrainian nationals for their involvement in the arson of the Warsaw hall. The direct perpetrators, however, have not yet been identified or apprehended. Serhii Chalyi managed to flee Poland.
A court in Vilnius also sentenced Bardadym to three years and four months in prison. In 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he left Ukraine for Poland, where he was allegedly recruited by Russian intelligence services.
The entire network was allegedly recruited and coordinated by Kolosovsky. He used a Telegram account under the name Warrior. While operating from Krasnodar, he arranged deliveries of detonators and bomb-making equipment to lockers at railway stations, from where recruited operatives collected them.
Kolosovsky is also believed to have been linked to the parcel explosions in warehouses in the United Kingdom and Germany. Court documents and data from European security services indicate that he coordinated the recruitment of individuals tasked with monitoring shipments and distributing materials used in the production of explosive devices.
Little is publicly known about him. According to The New York Times, he “lives modestly and is often in debt.” The investigative outlet Agentstvo reports that Kolosovsky was registered as a driver with the taxi service TaxSee and had a prior conviction for fraud.
Western intelligence agencies analyzing his background believe he led a second, hidden life. He was allegedly connected to a car thief named Danylo Oleinik. His phone number was linked to a network of Telegram channels involved in smuggling, doxxing, extortion, and the sale of forged documents and car theft equipment. It remains unclear whether he personally engaged in car theft.
In 2021, he was detained — the reason is unknown — but Western intelligence believes this may have been when he was recruited by Russian intelligence. His mother, who frequently posted family photos on social media, has not published any pictures of her son since at least 2021. In July 2022, when asked about his whereabouts, she replied that he was on a business trip.
As the newspaper notes, individuals like Kolosovsky — not professional intelligence officers — are increasingly participating in the Kremlin’s sabotage campaign.
One of the key figures in Russian intelligence is General Andrei Averyanov, who led GRU Unit 29155, widely regarded as responsible for sabotage operations. After the outbreak of war, he was promoted to deputy head of military intelligence — a move Western services interpreted as evidence of the growing importance of sabotage operations in Russia’s confrontation with Europe.
According to European intelligence services, Averyanov now oversees a special GRU unit responsible for organizing terrorist attacks and sabotage operations in Ukraine, EU member states, and other countries. A list of individuals involved in Russian sabotage operations, analyzed by The New York Times and confirmed by several Western intelligence agencies, contains more than 300 names, primarily Russian officers.
As the newspaper reports, Kolosovsky himself “appears to be in trouble.” After the parcel explosions, he was summoned to a regional FSB branch in Krasnodar, where his electronic devices were examined. Some sources believe the publicity surrounding his activities triggered a negative reaction in the Kremlin. Financial problems have also reportedly emerged — according to some accounts, he financed part of the operations from his own funds and later attempted to recover the expenses.
His finances remain unclear, but officials from two European countries say he recently searched online for property in London. This could indicate that he is considering a place for retirement — or possibly looking for a way to escape Russia, The New York Times writes.