“I have information that Russia is behind sabotage attempts in Poland and allied countries. I therefore made the decision to withdraw permission from the Consulate of the Russian Federation to operate in Poznan. » In front of the cameras, Radoslaw Sikorski, the head of Polish diplomacy, did not pull any punches on Tuesday October 22 in Warsaw, adding that Poland reserved “the right to take further action” in the event of prosecution. On the set of TVP, Polish public television, the Minister of Foreign Affairs suggested that this could go as far as the expulsion of the Russian ambassador to Poland.
In a few days, the Russian consulate in Poznan will close its doors and its staff will become “persona non grata”. Poland had already restricted the Russian diplomatic presence on its territory following the war in Ukraine. In May, Radoslaw Sikorski also limited the comings and goings of Russian diplomats to their region of assignment in Poland. Russia still has an embassy and a consulate in Warsaw. as well as two other consulates: one in Gdansk, the other in Krakow.
“We will give a painful response to any new hostile measure”for her part responded Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, quoted by the Ria Novosti press agency. “We can expect Russia to respond in kind by closing one of the Polish consulates on its soil, perhaps that of Irkutsk,” analyzes Krzysztof Zegota, professor at the University of Olsztyn. This specialist in security issues linked to Russia and Belarus specifies that Poland's objective is to preserve its diplomatic ties with its Russian neighbor, even if “a significant part of Russian diplomats in Poland work or collaborate with the Russian special services”.
“Opponent of President Zelensky”
Radoslaw Sikorski's announcement follows legal proceedings against a Ukrainian national before the Wroclaw Regional Court. During these proceedings, Serhii S., 51, pleaded guilty, accusing himself of having wanted to burn down the Dekoral paint factory in Wroclaw in January 2024, near a fuel depot. The Polish domestic intelligence service arrested him before he took action.
Alongside Serhii S., four other people are currently indicted by the National Prosecutor's Office in Wroclaw for participation in an organized criminal group, involved in the preparation and organization of acts of sabotage. “Serhii S. left Ukraine at the start of the war. In his explanations, he declared that he did not want to participate in the armed conflict. His motivation […] was financial »Marcin Kucharski, prosecutor at the Lower Silesian Prosecutor's Office in Wroclaw, told the press. In an investigation carried out by the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, which is based on information from the internal security agency (ABW), Serhii S. presented himself as “opponent of President Zelensky » and had joined Germany after the Russian invasion. He communicated on Telegram messaging with a man named Alexeï who allegedly promised him an advance of 2,000 dollars (or 1,850 euros) to set his target on fire.
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Source: Lemonde