Poland has detained one of its own citizens on suspicion of cooperating with Russia’s military intelligence service, including on plans for a possible assassination attempt against Volodymyr Zelensky while the Ukrainian president was travelling through Poland.
The suspect, who is a Polish citizen and can be named only as Paweł K. under Polish privacy law, was detained after Ukraine provided Poland with evidence of his alleged actions.
Informacja o zatrzymaniu obywatela RP Pawła K. i przedstawieniu mu zarzutu zgłoszenia gotowości do działania na rzecz wywiadu Federacji Rosyjskiej. ⬇️https://t.co/wRuQzjbCnw
— Prokuratura (@PK_GOV_PL) April 18, 2024
“The findings of the investigation show that the suspect declared his readiness to act on behalf of the military intelligence of the Russian Federation and established contacts with citizens of the Russian Federation directly involved in the war in Ukraine,” announced the Polish national prosecutor’s office.
Among the tasks reportedly assigned to Paweł K. by Russia was gathering information on security at Rzeszów airport. That city in eastern Poland has during the war become the main hub for transport in and out of Ukraine, including for Ukrainian officials and global leaders.
His actions were intended to “help the Russian security services plan a possible attempt on the life of the head of a foreign state, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky”, wrote the prosecutor’s office.
Paweł K. has been placed in pretrial detention and could face up to eight years in prison if convicted.
Fourteen members of a Russian spy network in Poland were given prison sentences today.
The group – most of whom are Ukrainians – was tasked with carrying out surveillance and sabotage, including plans to derail a train carrying military aid for Ukraine https://t.co/hX1cCDW1yc
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 19, 2023
In a separate statement issued on Telegram, Ukraine’s internal security agency, the SBU, confirmed that it had cooperated with the Polish authorities to “expose a Russian agent who offered the Russian special services an assassination attempt on the president of Ukraine…during his stay in Poland”.
“The SBU is grateful to its partners for effective cooperation in countering Russian crimes in Ukraine and abroad,” it added.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, said that the case “underscores the persistent threat Russia poses not only to Ukraine and Ukrainians but to the entire free world. The Kremlin’s criminal regime is constantly trying to undermine European and global security”.
Within weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland expelled 45 Russian diplomats who it said were actually spies.
In December last year, 14 foreign nationals – most of them Ukrainian citizens – were handed prison sentences in Poland after being found to have operated as part of a spy network on behalf of Russia. The group monitored transports to Ukraine and planned to derail a train carrying military aid.
In February this year, prosecutors announced that a Polish national, who has been in detention since 2021, will face trial accused of spying for Russia, which tasked him with establishing contact with leading Polish and foreign politicians.
A man with alleged links to members of the Polish and EU parliaments will face trial in Poland accused of spying for Russia.
He reportedly organised trips for politicians, including to Ukraine, aimed at "building Russian spheres of influence in Europe" https://t.co/e404aoYyIf
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 6, 2024
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Jakub Szymczuk/KPRP
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
