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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.
This is a breaking news story and may be updated as further details emerge.
Poland has detained a Russian national who was planning to assassinate a person with joint US and Ukrainian citizenship in Warsaw.
The news was first announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
“Thanks to the truly brilliant action of our security services – the Internal Security Agency (ABW) with the assistance of the police – on 7 August we detained a Russian citizen, recruited by Russian intelligence services, whose task was to execute an American and Ukrainian citizen right here in Warsaw,” he said.
“This is the first time someone on Russian orders has decided to attack an American citizen on the territory of another NATO country,” added Tusk.
💬 Premier @donaldtusk w #Warszawa: 7 sierpnia zatrzymaliśmy obywatela Rosji, którego zadaniem było wykonanie egzekucji w Warszawie na obywatelu amerykańskim i ukraińskim równocześnie. Dzięki akcji ABW i Policji udało się temu zapobiec.
— Kancelaria Premiera (@PremierRP) August 13, 2026
Though the prime minister said he was not allowed to name either the suspect or the target, he revealed that the latter was someone who is “inconvenient for Putin’s regime”.
Tusk also gave no details of how the assassination was supposed to have been carried out, but said that it was foiled “at the last minute”.
In a subsequent statement, Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister in charge of Poland’s security services, confirmed Tusk’s announcement and noted that the operation to prevent the attack had taken place in cooperation with the US.
Police headquarters in Warsaw later revealed that the 29-year-old suspect had been charged with planning a murder and accepting an order to carry out murder in return for material or personal benefit. Both crimes carry jail terms of between two and 15 years. He has also been placed in court-approved pretrial detention.
7 sierpnia br. ABW we współpracy z policją zatrzymała obywatela Rosji, który na zlecenie obcej służby przygotowywał zabójstwo obywatela USA ukraińskiego pochodzenia. Do zabójstwa miało dojść w Warszawie. Operacja była realizowana we współpracy ze służbami USA.
— Tomasz Siemoniak (@TomaszSiemoniak) August 13, 2026
Poland has been a major target for hostile operations by agents working on behalf of Russia.
In March, a report by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism found that Poland is the most frequently targeted country in a campaign of sabotage being orchestrated by Russia across Europe. That included an attempt last year to use explosives to derail a train.
In June, a Russian artist whose work criticised Putin was assassinated in Poland. Soon after, the Polish security services detained the suspected killer, who they said was using a Georgian passport.
Last month, a Russian missile hit Poland during intensive attacks on Ukraine. That followed an incident last year in which around 20 Russian drones violated Polish airspace.
Poland has also been one of Ukraine’s closest allies since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, providing significant military, humanitarian and diplomatic support, as well as welcoming millions of Ukrainian refugees, almost one million of whom remain in 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: ABW (under CC BY-SA 4.0)
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.
