Poland Arrests Two Ukrainian Men Over Alleged Russian Espionage and Sabotage

WARSAW. Poland has arrested two Ukrainian men suspected of spying and carrying out sabotage for Russian intelligence services, the Internal Security Agency, known as the ABW, said on Tuesday.

The men, aged 24 and 25, were detained in Minsk Mazowiecki, east of Warsaw. Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister who coordinates the special services, disclosed the case on Tuesday, November 10. A court has ordered the men held for three months while the investigation continues, under the supervision of the Lodz branch of the National Prosecutor's Office.

What investigators allege

The ABW said the suspects carried out tasks for Russian special services that included, among other things, reconnoitring critical infrastructure and military facilities across the country. Prosecutors have charged both men with espionage on behalf of a foreign intelligence service against Poland, and with committing acts of sabotage.

According to investigators, the men set fire to vehicles in one of Poland's large cities after replacing their licence plates with plates made to resemble those used by the Ukrainian military. They were paid for the work, in part in cryptocurrencies.

Prosecutors said the sabotage was carried out at the behest of Russian intelligence services and was intended to fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment inside Poland. The charges are allegations, not a verdict, and the men have not been convicted. Both face from 10 years to life in prison if they are found guilty.

A wider hybrid campaign, Warsaw says

Poland has long accused Russia and its ally Belarus of running a hybrid campaign of sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation since Moscow's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied those accusations. The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest arrests.

The case is the second espionage arrest announcement from the ABW in a week. On November 5, Polish authorities arrested four people on charges of spying for Russian intelligence and supplying it with military components.

Poland hosts Western military aid routes into Ukraine and has detained dozens of people over suspected sabotage and espionage since 2022. Officials in Warsaw say the pattern of arson, reconnaissance and paid tasks run through intermediaries is now a standing feature of that pressure campaign, and they say each new case is tested in court on its own evidence.