Heathrow fire: Was Russia behind the chaos? Experts sound the alarm

British counter-terrorism police are investigating whether sabotage played a role in the massive fire at an electrical substation near London’s Heathrow Airport, which caused widespread travel disruptions. Some security experts have suggested the blaze bears the "hallmarks" of Russian sabotage, though authorities have not confirmed any evidence of foul play.

Fire disrupts Europe’s busiest airport

The fire broke out late Thursday at an electrical substation about two miles from Heathrow, leading to power outages at the airport. As a result, more than 1,300 flights were canceled, affecting approximately 291,000 passengers.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire, which is expected to cause delays for several more days. While the Metropolitan Police stated there was no immediate indication of foul play, its counter-terrorism command is leading the probe. According to The Times, this division was assigned due to its expertise and the need to assess potential sabotage.

Experts raise concerns over possible Russian involvement

Security experts and former military officials have raised concerns that the incident could be linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged efforts to destabilise the UK.

Professor Anthony Glees of the University of Buckingham told LBC that British intelligence agency MI5 was likely investigating the possibility of Kremlin involvement.

“We are obliged to think about Russian military intelligence being involved in something as serious as this,” Glees said. “It’s a very serious hit on our critical national infrastructure [and] that we should suspect the Russians and their surrogates being responsible is in itself an indication of the success of Russian subversive activities in the United Kingdom.”

He added, “This could be a coincidence, but bearing in mind there are more than 585,000 electrical substations in the UK, why this particular one should explode does seem to me to be more than a coincidence.”

Former military officials see parallels to Russian tactics

Other security experts have drawn parallels between the Heathrow substation fire and previous suspected acts of Russian sabotage.

Former British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon told The Sun that the incident resembled tactics used by Moscow.

“This has all the hallmarks of Russian sabotage,” he said. “There is still no hard evidence, but circumstantially, this is straight out of Moscow’s sabotage playbook. We don’t hear of substations catching fire very often. And for the back-up system to fail as well. The timing is very suspicious.”

Ex-Major General Jonathan Shaw, a former director of UK Special Forces, echoed these concerns in an interview with The Sun.

“Obviously, we should be worried that this could be Russia,” he said. “It is definitely a possibility. And it shows how vulnerable we are. We need a complete change of mindset.”

Authorities keeping "open mind" in investigation

Despite speculation about potential foreign involvement, police have not officially attributed the fire to sabotage. The Metropolitan Police have stated they are keeping an "open mind" as the investigation continues.

As the probe unfolds, UK security agencies are likely to scrutinise the incident for any signs of external interference, particularly given concerns over previous alleged Russian-backed attacks on British infrastructure.