WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has arrested 18 people on charges of carrying out hostile activities or planning sabotage on behalf of Russia and Belarus, including plans to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyythe Interior Minister said on Monday.
Ten of the people arrested since December were directly involved in planning various forms of sabotage across Poland, Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told a press conference.
Polish authorities have linked some recent arsons or attempted arson to Russian-sponsored agents. Those arrested include Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian nationals according to Homeland Security communiqués in recent months.
A Polish man was arrested in April on charges that he agreed to spy for Russian military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Zelenskyy, Polish prosecutors said. The man reportedly reached out to Russians directly involved in the war in Ukraine and was expected to pass on detailed information about the strategic Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in southeastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine.
That’s what Siemoniak said acts of sabotage were apparently part of a broader plan that also includes cyber attacks,pushing migrants into Belarus into Poland, and threaten the security of the country that has supported Ukraine in repelling Russia’s large-scale invasion.
“We have no doubt that, on the orders of a foreign country, Russia, there are a number of people active who are willing to threaten the lives, health and property of Polish citizens,” Siemoniak said.