MFA chief: further decisions in case of signs of sabotage from Russia

Last Tuesday, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced the withdrawal of consent for the functioning of the Russian Consulate General in Poznań. He argued that the Russian Federation is waging war against Ukraine and conducting hybrid warfare against the West, including against Poland. Sikorski added that, as Foreign Minister, he has information suggesting that Russia is behind attempts at sabotage in Poland and allied countries.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Paweł Wroński stated that "the consulate has until November 30 to vacate the building."

On Monday, Radosław Sikorski spoke with journalists in the Netherlands. "Russia is waging a hybrid war not only against Poland or the West as a whole. It tried to influence the outcome of the referendum in Moldova with bribery and information aggression, and is now doing the same in Georgia. But in Europe, it is not only trying to influence election outcomes. It’s also involved in acts of sabotage, arson, murder, and in previous years, the bombing of ammunition depots," the minister listed.

"There have been at least attempts of such sabotage in Poland, thankfully thwarted by our special services, with the prosecutor’s office presenting strong evidence. […] I have privileged knowledge of who was behind this saboteur. As a political signal to Russia, but also as a practical step to hinder the operations of Russian services, I made … the decision to close the consulate in Poznań," he explained.

"This decision was made several days ago, and since then we have no information about any new acts of sabotage or preparations for one. If the situation changes, I will make new decisions," he announced.

He emphasized that "the Russian Federation, in fact, has no right to any reaction to this decision, because Poland is not conducting sabotage operations in Russia." "But given the difficulty of this partner, some response is likely," he noted.

At the end of January this year, Ukrainian citizen Serhii S. was detained by ABW officers. Two days later, a court ordered his temporary detention. As ABW reported, he was planning "to set fire to objects in the city of Wrocław, which are located in close proximity to elements of strategically significant infrastructure," and was allegedly cooperating with Russian intelligence.