Four foreigners convicted by Poland of spying for Russia seek asylum after release from prison

Sep 5, 2025 | Defence, Law, Politics

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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.

Four foreigners jailed in Poland for their role in a spy ring that carried out espionage and sabotage on behalf of Russia have applied for asylum in Poland itself after completing their prison sentences.

Given that most of those involved in the conspiracy were Ukrainians, it is possible they are hoping to avoid being deported back to their homeland, where they could be harshly treated as traitors, reports Rzeczpospolita, the newspaper that broke the story.

In December 2023, 16 people were jailed for their role in the spy ring, which undertook activities such as surveilling infrastructure – including the airport and railway station in Rzeszów – monitoring and planning to blow up aid trains bound for Ukraine, distributing propaganda, and carrying out arson attacks.

Their work was coordinated via the Telegram messaging service by a man known simply as “Andriej” who is believed to be an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). He paid the group for its work using cryptocurrencies.

Only one member of the gang is a Russian, who was in Poland as a professional ice hockey player, while two are Belarusians. The remaining 13 are Ukrainians. Rzeczpospolita reports they were likely recruited by Russia while in Ukraine then arrived in Poland posing as refugees.

The spies were all given prison sentences of between just over one year and six years. Eight of them have now served those (though two were returned to jail for failing to pay fines imposed on them).

 

Rzeczpospolita reports that among the eight who were released, four have been “quietly deported” to their home countries. However, the remaining four have applied for asylum in Poland.

That development was confirmed by Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), which was originally responsible for breaking up the spy ring in March 2023. “They will remain in closed refugee centres until the related [asylum] procedures are completed,” the agency told Rzeczpospolita.

Although the nationalities of those released, deported or placed in refugee centres has not been confirmed, the newspaper suggests that, given the majority of the spies are Ukrainian, it is possible they are hoping to avoid returning to Ukraine as traitors and collaborators with Russia.

However, security and asylum experts the newspaper spoke to suggest that it is extremely unlikely that any of their applications for international protection will be approved by Poland given their criminal actions against the country and the threat they still represent.

Stanisław Żaryn, who served as spokesman for Poland’s security services when the spy ring was broken up in 2023, called news of their asylum claims “shocking.”

“These individuals will, of course, try various tricks to stay in Poland. Applications and asylum may be part of their tactics, a game that some in this spy network used during the trial, when they claimed they initially didn’t know what they were participating in,” Żaryn told Rzeczpospolita.

He warned that, even after serving their sentences, the former spies could still pose a threat if targeted by Russian intelligence.

“Therefore, we should get rid of them and return those who have served their prison sentences to their homeland. If we were to grant such individuals asylum, we would be subject to even more spy stories,” he said.


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: Służby specjalne (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

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