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Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) has broken up a spy network working for the Russian secret services, radio RMF FM reported on Wednesday. Six people, all foreign nationals, have been arrested.
The group was supposed to prepare the ground for infrastructure sabotage. They concentrated their activities on rail routes, mounting surveillance cameras at major junctions to obtain information about traffic volumes and transport.
According to RMF FM's findings, the cell targeted rail routes in the Podkarpackie region, primarily around the airport in Jasionka near Rzeszów – a key transit point for sending aid to Ukraine.
Authorities issued a security alert for rail routes and Poland’s critical infrastructure.
Minister of Interior confirms the information
On Thursday, March 16, the minister of interior and special services coordinator Mariusz Kamiński officially confirmed the information, stating that six people have been arrested and three others remain in temporary detention.
Kamiński said that ABW officers secured cameras, electronic equipment, and GPS devices meant to be mounted on aid shipments to Ukraine. Moreover, he stated that evidence collected by the authorities shows that the group was commissioned to carry out propaganda activities with the aim of destabilizing Polish-Ukrainian relations, fuelling anti-NATO sentiment, and attacking the Polish Government's policy toward Ukraine.
A similar situation took place in March 2022. ABW arrested Tomasz L., an employee of the Warsaw Registry Office, who was supposed to share valuable operational data with Russian intelligence services.
TVN 24 revealed that Tomasz L. was involved in the works of the commission tasked with shutting down the Military Information Services, a flagship project of the Law and Justice party back in 2005-07.
The Russian spy worked at Warsaw City Hall for almost 20 years.
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