The Czech police have issued a search warrant for General
Andrey Averyanov, a Russian military intelligence (GUR) officer implicated in
orchestrating the 2014 ammunition depot explosions in Czechia’s Vrbetice, Radio
Prague International reported on May 10.
The blasts, which resulted in the deaths of two people, are attributed to Averyanov's subordinates, Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, according to the report.
Czech law enforcement has determined that the Shaposhnikovs, a married couple and purported Russian spies who had obtained Czech passports, supplied Averyanov with inside information on the ammunition stockpile, as well as documents to access the warehouse.
Chepiga and Mishkin are also under suspicion for the 2018 poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, UK.
Bellingcat researchers have previously stated the 2014 explosions were part of a GRU operation, which aimed to disrupt Ukraine's weapons acquisitions critical for war in Donbas.