Attempted arson at Prague bus depot foiled — officials allege Russian hybrid operation

On the night of Thursday 6 June 2024, a man doused three city buses with gasoline and set them alight at a Prague Transport Company depot in the Prague-Klíčov district. Depot staff noticed the blaze quickly and put it out with a fire extinguisher before it could spread, limiting the damage to an estimated 200,000 Czech crowns. Police arrested a 26-year-old Colombian national, who had entered the country roughly five days earlier, on Saturday 8 June and charged him with terrorism.

On Monday 10 June, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said there was suspicion that the attack had been organised and financed probably from Russia, describing it as part of a hybrid war waged against Czechia. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan warned that Russian operations, previously focused on cyber and information campaigns, now appeared to be extending to physical targets, and the Czech counter-intelligence service BIS noted information about Russian intelligence services recruiting people outside Russia to carry out attacks for payment.

In June 2025 the Prague Municipal Court sentenced the man, identified as Andrés Alfonso de la Hoz de la Cruz, to eight years in prison under a plea agreement, ordered his expulsion and required him to pay about 115,000 crowns in damages. According to the court, he had received instructions and the promise of payment via the Telegram messaging app from a contact using the alias "Adrian," and had filmed the fire. A court spokeswoman said the alleged Russian link was not addressed during the hearing; Moscow has denied involvement.

Reporting consistently supports a foiled arson at a Prague bus depot that Czech leaders publicly attributed to a suspected Russian-financed hybrid operation, fitting a wider pattern of alleged sabotage and arson-for-hire across Europe using locally recruited proxies contacted via Telegram. The attribution to Russia remains an allegation by Czech officials: the prosecution proceeded on terrorism charges, the conviction rested on a plea deal, and the court itself did not adjudicate the Russian connection. The limited physical damage and the recruitment of a foreign newcomer for modest payment are characteristic of low-cost, deniable operations.