Poland warns Russia seeks to exploit Ukraine tensions with sabotage operations

WARSAW – Polish special services are preparing for possible Russian sabotage operations aimed at inflaming tensions between Poles and Ukrainians, Tomasz Siemoniak, Polish minister in charge of special services, told radio station Radio Muzyka Fakty on July 1.

Relations between Poland and Ukraine have deteriorated after Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s decision to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland’s highest state honour due to a dispute over the naming of a Ukrainian army unit after insurgents blamed for massacring Poles during World War Two.

Siemoniak said Russian information warfare against Poland had intensified in recent weeks, with trolls and bots seeking to amplify disputes and influence Poland’s online space.

“Russia’s dream, the dream of the Russian services, was and is the greatest possible tension between Poland and Ukraine,” Siemoniak said.

Asked about the possibility of a Russian provocation, including an attack targeting Ukrainians in Poland that could further inflame public sentiment, Siemoniak said such scenarios were entirely plausible.

“We observe the interest of people who are commissioned by Russian services in various facilities which are important from the Polish-Ukrainian point of view,” Siemoniak said.

He added the interest was not limited to military facilities, critical infrastructure and sites involved in military support for Ukraine, but also extended to aid organisations and other locations linked to Polish-Ukrainian cooperation.

He said authorities were not suggesting any specific plot was imminent but had to anticipate attempts by Russia to exploit current tensions.

More broadly, Siemoniak said Western intelligence agencies are concerned about the risk of Russian hybrid, or even kinetic attacks, against Poland and the Baltic States.

“Russia has an arsenal of such actions and... they are preparing them,” he said. “We have to take into account various possibilities.” REUTERS