Putin is 'highly likely' behind bomb hoaxes that forced six flights, two from Britain, into emergency landings, expert warns
A LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 like the aircraft carrying 181 passengers, including Jewish schoolchildren from a London school, that was diverted from its Heathrow-to-Warsaw route after a hoax bomb threat.A locator map of European flight routes, showing the countries affected by Tuesday's bomb threats, including the Ryanair jet from Manchester that landed under guard in Murcia, Spain.
Security and intelligence expert Professor Anthony Glees said it was "highly likely" Vladimir Putin ordered the hoax campaign, describing it as part of a "kinetic shadow war" using disinformation to spread mayhem and test Western resilience. The UK government confirmed the two British-departure threats — from Heathrow and Manchester — were a "malicious hoax."
Six flights in total were targeted, with Rome, Warsaw, Murcia, Sofia and Budapest all seeing diverted or grounded planes after anonymous bomb tips.
London Jewish schoolchildren aged 16 and 17 were among 181 passengers on the Heathrow-Warsaw LOT flight diverted to Warsaw-Modlin, evacuated without their belongings.
The chaos follows a pattern of suspected Russian hybrid attacks across Europe including drone incursions, cyberattacks on supermarket freezers, and what experts say are IRA-style tactics copied by Moscow.
