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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Two Russian men who put up hundreds of recruitment posters for the mercenary Wagner Group in Polish cities have each been sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
The district court in Kraków convicted the men – who can be named only as Andrei G. and Alexey T. under Polish privacy law – of working on behalf of Russian intelligence and recruiting for a terrorist organisation as part of a “hybrid war” against Poland, reports broadcaster RMF.
Zostali uznani za winnych szpiegostwa i prowadzenia naboru do Grupy Wagnera. Mężczyźni rozklejali w Krakowie i Warszawie naklejki werbunkowe.https://t.co/65RkWhqewG
— tvn24 (@tvn24) February 14, 2025
Prosecutors said the pair, who were detained by Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) in 2023 and indicted last year, had placed several hundred recruitment stickers in Kraków and Warsaw, directing potential recruits to Wagner Group operatives.
They also distributed posters ridiculing the European Union in Polish cities, as well as in Berlin and Paris. According to Poalnd’s interior ministry, the two men were to be paid up to 500,000 rubles (€5,176) for distributing the materials. After completing the task, they were scheduled to leave Poland
Prosecutors were seeking eight-year prison terms for the two men, who did not deny that they were behind the stickers and expressed regret for their actions, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
But the pair pleaded not guilty to the charges, arguing that they were unaware of the consequences of their actions and had no links to the Wagner Group or Russian intelligence. They said they had simply been trying to earn some money.
However, one of the prosecutors in the case, Tomasz Dudek, said that evidence from the two men’s phones “shows that the accused are not random people who, out a desire to earn money, agreed to a one-time trip to Poland without understanding the purpose”.
In fact, “these are people adapted and trained to conduct sabotage, hybrid activities in the EU”, said Dudek, quoted by PAP. “The accused are spies.”
The judge agreed, saying in her justification for the conviction that the two men must have been aware of the nature of their actions, which “were primarily aimed at causing disinformation and destabilising the political situation in Poland”.
Her ruling is not yet final and can still be appealed. Local news website LoveKraków reports that both the defendents’ lawyers and prosecutors – who wanted a tougher sentence – have indicated they will appeal.
On the streets of #Poland in public places appeared stickers with the symbols of PMC "#Wagner" and the call to join them.
It is still unknown whether the mercenaries are really trying to recruit Poles, or whether the stickers are distributed by Russian agents for psychological… pic.twitter.com/qAZMtaKLnw
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 12, 2023
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Poland has arrested a number of people accused of spying for or carrying out sabotage on behalf of Russia and Belarus. It has also accused Moscow and Minsk of orchestrating a migration crisis on Poland’s border and of carrying out cyberattacks.
In December 2023, 14 members of a Russian spy network who planned to derail a Ukraine aid train were sentenced in Poland to between one and six years in prison.
Poland has also suggested that it is likely Russia was behind a wave of sabotage cases last year, including a fire that destroyed Warsaw’s largest shopping centre. In October, four people were detained in Poland on suspicion of involvement in sending hidden incendiaries via parcel delivery services.
Poland has ordered a Russian consulate to close and its staff to leave the country in response to what it says are acts of sabotage and cyberwarfare being conducted by Moscow.
"Russia is conducting hybrid warfare against Poland," says the foreign ministry https://t.co/7ztvOAuFJZ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 22, 2024
The Wagner Group is a Russian private military company with close ties to the Kremlin and known for its involvement in conflicts in Ukraine, Syria and Africa.
Poland has viewed the group as a security threat, particularly after its role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reports of attempts to recruit operatives in Europe.
After leading a failed rebellion in Russia itself in 2023, the Wagner Group relocated some of its forces to Belarus, where its mercenaries became engaged in training exercises with the Belarusian military, including near the border with Poland.
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: Łukasz Wantuch/Facebook
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
