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Poland arrests 18 alleged of planning hostile pro-Russian actions
Poland has arrested 18 people on allegations of pursuing pro-Russian and pro-Belarusian hostile actions, including a person alleged to have been involved in a plan to assassinate Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the interior minister said in a statement reported by Reuters.
Ten of those arrested since December were directly involved in planning various forms of sabotage across Poland, interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak told a news conference.
Polish authorities have linked some recent incidents of arson or attempted arson to Russian-sponsored agents. Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian nationals are among those arrested in recent months, according to the internal security agency.
A Polish man was arrested in April and is alleged to have been prepared to spy for Russian military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Zelenskiy, Polish prosecutors said.
Siemoniak said that the alleged acts of sabotage were part of a broader plan including cyberattacks, directing migrants in Belarus to cross the border into Poland, and threatening Poland’s security.
“We have no doubt that on the bidding of a foreign country, Russia, there are some people active who are ready to threaten the life, health and property of the Polish citizens,” Siemoniak said.
