Poland has announced that it is restricting the movement of Russian diplomats, with the exception of the ambassador, due to Moscow’s involvement in “hybrid” attacks, especially sabotage activities.
Moscow has responded by warning it will take “retaliatory measures” that will make Poland “regret the anti-Russian steps” it has taken.
In Brussels on Monday, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski told journalists that, “in connection with the Russian state’s involvement in a hybrid war against the European Union, including Poland, [we are introducing] restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats in our country”.
He revealed that diplomats working at the Russian embassy would be barred from travelling outside the Mazovia province in which Warsaw is located. Those working at consulates in other parts of Poland would also be required to remain in the province where their outpost is located.
Szef @MSZ_RP @sikorskiradek poinformował, że w związku z udziałem Rosji w wojnie hybrydowej przeciwko UE, w tym przeciwko Polsce, podjął decyzję o nałożeniu restrykcji na poruszanie się dyplomatów rosyjskich po kraju. pic.twitter.com/iXC7ty0UjR
— tvp.info 🇵🇱 (@tvp_info) May 27, 2024
Sikorski claimed that other countries have already introduced similar restrictions and expressed hope that more would now follow.
“We hope that Russia will treat this as a very serious warning signal,” added the minister. “We have evidence that the Russian state is involved in authorising sabotage, including in our country.”
Last week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that it is “likely” Russia was behind a recent fire that destroyed Warsaw’s largest shopping centre. He also announced that at least 12 people had been detained on suspicion of planning or carrying out sabotage on behalf of Russia.
It is “likely” that Russia was involved in the fire that recently destroyed Warsaw’s largest shopping centre, says Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
However, he added that investigations are still ongoing https://t.co/SipJtSLIpQ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 21, 2024
During his statement yesterday, Sikorski said that the Russian embassy would soon receive a note regarding the restrictions on its diplomats. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS agency yesterday that Moscow did not yet know the details of Poland’s decision.
“When we have [the note], we will study it and take retaliatory measures that will make the Polish top brass, which is choking on Russophobia, regret the anti-Russian steps taken,” Zakharova told TASS.
The Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreyev, also said that the Polish authorities had not yet notified the embassy of the restrictions and had not provided any explanations in the case, reported Polish news service Interia, citing Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
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Main image credit: Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych (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.
