The nation’s security agencies have thwarted a Russian scheme to disrupt Poland’s train lines in order to prevent them from supplying Ukraine with weaponry.
Interior Minister of Poland Mariusz Kaminski announced that the nation’s Internal Security Service had detained nine “foreign operatives” who were allegedly spying for Moscow.
Mr. Kaminski said the spy ring had been “preparing sabotage acts aimed at paralyzing the flow of equipment, ammunition, and supplies to Ukraine” while speaking at a news conference in Warsaw.
He said the security agents also seized cameras, electronic equipment and GPS transmitters, which the suspects had been planning to place on shipments of aid to Ukraine.
Defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak suggested the group had entered the country from neighbouring Belarus, a close Russian ally which shares a border with Nato member Poland.
‘The threat was real,’ Mr Blaszczak confirmed on state radio.
Polish radio station RMF FM broke the news of the arrests, which it said were perpetrated by ‘foreigners from across our eastern border.’
According to the station, the spies had been spotted gathering information at Jasionka airport in south-east Poland- a transit hub which is currently being used by Kyiv’s allies to transport weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.
Additional points of ‘critical infrastructure’ were also reportedly targeted in different parts of the country.
Secretary of State Stanislaw Zaryn warned of Russia’s increasingly aggressive intelligence activities following Poland’s expulsion of 45 Russian diplomats accused of being spies last year
‘Russia is looking for new opportunities to act against Poland,’ he said.
‘We are dealing with attempts to obtain sensitive information, including photographing credit cards or browsing private telephones of Poles.
‘All this is used to collect data on what is happening in Poland and what movements our troops are making.’
He added: ‘The Russians use so-called soft blackmail, trying to intimidate the interrogated people.’
Poland has been one of Ukraine’s most vocal allies since the outbreak of the war, and its outspoken support of its war-torn neighbour has been crucial in persuading other European nations to supply heavy weapons, including tanks, to Kyiv.
Earlier this year, they became the first country to supply German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and there are plans in place in outfit them further with a squadron of MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make them the first Nato member to fulfil Kyiv’s increasingly urgent requests for warplanes.
President Andrzej Duda said Poland would hand over four of the Soviet-made warplanes ‘within the next few days’ but the rest would need servicing and will be supplied later.
The Polish word he used to describe their number could mean anything between 11 and 19.
‘They are in the last years of their functioning but they are in good working condition,’ Mr Duda said of the aircraft.
He did not say whether other countries would make the same move, although Slovakia has said it will send its disused MiGs to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller said some other countries with MiGs had also pledged them to Kyiv, but he did not name them.
News of the sabotage plot came a day after the Polish government made the announcement.
Poland also hosts thousands of American troops and is taking in more people fleeing the war than any other nation, in the midst of the largest European refugee crisis in decades.
It has suffered invasions and occupations by Russia for centuries and still fears Russia despite being a member of Nato.