Two Ukrainian citizens, aged 24 and 25, have been detained in Poland on suspicion of espionage and sabotage carried out on behalf of Russian intelligence services. The men are implicated in vehicle arson attacks intended to fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment, and they face life imprisonment if convicted of the charges against them.
The detentions were reported by Tomasz Siemoniak on X.
According to inPoland, the two Ukrainians were detained on November 3 in the town of Mińsk Mazowiecki. The operation was conducted by officers from the Łódź branch of Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW).
According to prosecutors, law enforcement officers seized data storage devices and narcotic substances during searches of the suspects’ places of residence and other locations connected to the case.
On November 4, both men were charged with participating in Russian intelligence activities against Poland and committing an act of sabotage involving vehicle arson attacks in one of Poland’s major cities.
According to investigators, the suspects also gathered information about military facilities and critical infrastructure in Poland. They conducted reconnaissance and photographed these sites.
Officers from the Internal Security Agency established that, before setting the vehicles on fire, the men replaced their license plates with ones resembling those used by Ukrainian military vehicles. Investigators believe this may have been intended to conceal the true circumstances of the incidents and direct suspicion toward Ukraine. Prosecutors emphasized that the sabotage activities were intended to fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland.
The suspects received payments for carrying out assignments from Russian intelligence services, including in cryptocurrency.
Prosecutors asked the court to place the men in pretrial detention, citing the risk of flight, the need to ensure the proper conduct of the investigation, and the severity of the potential punishment. The court granted the request and ordered both suspects to be held in custody for three months.
The men’s actions were classified under Article 130, paragraphs 1 and 7, of the Polish Criminal Code. They face life imprisonment for the offenses with which they have been charged.
