Nine people have been charged in Poland on suspicion of sabotage on behalf of the Kremlin, says Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who warned that the region is facing a “very serious” threat from Russia.
“We have nine suspects under arrest at the moment, with charges against them, who have engaged directly on behalf of the Russian services in acts of sabotage in Poland. This includes beatings, arson [and] attempted arson,” said Tusk during an interview with broadcaster TVN24 on Monday.
“We are talking about paid people here. These are people from the criminal world. This includes Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish citizens,” he added. “The issue is very serious. It affects several European countries. At the moment, certainly Lithuania, Latvia [and] Poland,”
– Mamy aresztowanych dziewięciu podejrzanych z postawionymi zarzutami, którzy zaangażowali się bezpośrednio na zlecenie rosyjskich służb w akty sabotażu w Polsce – przekazał premier @donaldtusk w @faktypofaktach.
🔗https://t.co/wNWbvqXrto pic.twitter.com/EMXGMR4a3d— tvn24 (@tvn24) May 20, 2024
As an example of sabotage, he cited an attempt to set fire to a paint plant in Wrocław. Tusk said that it had already been “established beyond doubt” that the attempt had been carried out on behalf of the Russian services.
In late January, the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) detained a Ukrainian citizen believed to be acting on behalf of Russian intelligence services, Radio Wrocław reported at the time.
“The ABW has acquired information that a Ukrainian citizen, acting on orders from Russian special services, is planning to take action on Polish territory to set fire to facilities in the city of Wrocław that are in close proximity to critical infrastructure elements,” Tusk’s chancellery said in February.
The man was charged with participating in an organised criminal group of an international character, as well as with planning sabotage activities on the territory of Poland on behalf of Russian security services. He faces up to 12 years in prison.
Poland has arrested one of its own citizens on suspicion of cooperating with Russian intelligence, including on plans for an assassination attempt against @ZelenskyyUa while the Ukrainian president was travelling through Poland https://t.co/UIjlElXf2K
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 18, 2024
Speaking yesterday, Tusk also announced that those detained for setting fire to an Ikea warehouse in Vilnius, Lithuania may be linked to arson attempts in Poland, though he did not reveal further details.
In December, 14 foreign nationals – most of them Ukrainian citizens – who operated as part of a Russian spy and sabotage network in Poland were sentenced to between one and six years in prison.
In April, two men – both Polish citizens – were detained in Poland on suspicion of carrying out an attack on Russian opposition figure Leonid Volkov in Lithuania. A day earlier, another Polish national was detained on suspicion of helping Russian intelligence with a planned assassination attempt against Volodymyr Zelensky.
Earlier this month, a series of fires broke out around Poland over a period of a few days, leading some to suggest Russia may be behind the incidents. However, Tusk and other officials have stressed that there is so far no evidence of foreign involvement.
Poland has announced additional funding for its security agencies due to the growing threat of Russian covert actions.
"Attempts at direct action, including sabotage and attempted arson, have been thwarted" in recent weeks, says @donaldtusk https://t.co/yNu6bD3q1N
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 14, 2024
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Main image credit: Służby specjalne / gov.pl (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
