In an interview with the commercial channel TVN24, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a Ukrainian ‘mercenary’ was among nine suspected Russian saboteurs arrested in Poland and also conducts sabotage acts in Sweden, Lithuania, and Latvia.
According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, nine individuals detained in Poland are believed to be members of an organization that conducts sabotage acts in Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.
“We currently have nine suspects detained and indicted, who have been directly implicated in the name of Russian [intelligence] services in acts of sabotage in Poland,” he stated in an interview with commercial channel TVN24.
Tusk described the accused as “mercenaries,” who work for Russian secret services, performing beatings and arson attacks. Those detained included nationals of Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine.
According to him, the group’s actions included attempting arson assaults on an Ikea warehouse and store in Lithuania as well as a paint plant in Wroclaw, western Poland. He indicated that in the upcoming days, more details about the suspects and their deeds would be released to the public.
In addition to conducting continuous investigations into the group’s activities, he added that Poland’s security forces were working with its [Baltic] neighbors and other allies to take action against any potential threats of this kind and to arrest any other individuals who may be involved.
He also said that: “thanks to the vigilance of our services and our allies,” Warsaw had prevented other acts of sabotage.
This was most likely a reference to the arrest of Polish nationals employed by Russian intelligence who were part of the April plot to kill Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, and the March attack in Vilnius on Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
A week ago, Tusk declared that Poland was bolstering its military and civil counter-espionage capabilities.
He implied in the interview on Monday that this was due to Russia’s increased efforts to destabilize the nation and Poland’s growing lack of readiness to oppose it.
He continued by accusing the former administration’s members of being to blame for both this and earlier mistakes in responding to the threat. He specifically named Michał Dworczyk, a former government advisor on Eastern European affairs, Antoni Macierewicz, Poland’s former Minister of National Defense, and several of their appointees as having been in charge of undermining Poland’s military and intelligence capabilities for more than ten years.
According to Tusk, it was not his responsibility to look into whether the circumstances were the product of deliberate political action, carelessness, incapacity, or foolishness.
Simultaneously, he declared that a parliamentary commission would be established on Tuesday to look into Belarusian and Russian influence in Poland, stating that it was crucial to comprehend “what is happening in Poland, also on various levels of government and administration.”
A former judge named Tomasz Szmydt defected to Belarus, having been appointed by the former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, and had “done his best to disrupt and dismantle Poland’s justice system.” He also denounced the anti-EU and pro-Russian stance of several former members of parliament.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that, according to a recently published report in Politico, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and other officials blame the deadly New Caledonia uprising on TikTok, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
