Two foreigners detained under suspicion of spying for Russia and Belarus

The war in Ukraine has plunged what were already strained relations between Poland and Russia to new lows, with Warsaw saying it is frequently the subject of Russian espionage and disinformation.

Prosecutors in the northern Polish city of Gdańsk said in a statement that one suspect had been detained on March 21.

"The findings made in the case show that the suspect acted for the benefit of Russian intelligence by obtaining and collecting information... on critical infrastructure in the Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regions and on the activities of services and bodies responsible for security," they said.

"The information obtained was passed on to the Russian intelligence service," the statement added.

The second suspected person had been detained on March 1, based on information gathered by Poland's Military Counterintelligence Service. A foreign citizen, the man has been charged with conducting espionage activity for the benefit of Belarusian intelligence service.

"The collected evidence suggests the suspect was carrying out reconnaissance of facilities important to Poland's security, including those related with Polish Armed Forces," the Office of Special Services Minister-Coordinator said in the statement.

The man has been arrested for three months. If found guilty, the suspects could face up to 10 years in prison.

The arrests comes after Poland dismantled a Russian espionage network that had been preparing acts of sabotage and monitoring rail routes to Ukraine.

Since February 24, 2022, that is from the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion into Ukraine, "Polish services have already detained 20 people suspected of cooperation with Russian or Belarusian intelligence" - the statement added.