A Russian plot to sabotage Poland’s train lines in a bid to stop the country delivering arms to Ukraine has been uncovered, with six suspected foreign agents arrested.
According to news outlet RMF FM, the ‘foreigners from across our eastern border’ were detained by Poland’s Internal Security Agency ‘on suspicion of working on behalf of the Russian special services’.
The six agents – who are thought to be from Belarus – were seized after intelligence officers from Poland’s ABW found hidden cameras recording important railway routes for transferring weapons and ammo to Ukraine.
They are suspected of trying to sabotage the lines to disrupt Kyiv’s war effort. Poland’s special forces minister said an official statement would be given tomorrow.
The arrests come just weeks after the minster responsible for the country’s special services revealed that nine other people suspected of collaborating with the Russian and Belarusian services had also been detained in recent months.
Polish intelligence services have captured a pro-Russian spy network said to have been planning sabotage attacks against Poland’s train lines. The agents were seized after intelligence officers from Poland’s ABW (pictured, file photo) found hidden cameras recording important railway routes for transferring weapons and ammunition to Ukraine
The latest arrests concern secret surveillance of railway routes near the airport in Rzeszów in south-eastern Poland (pictured), less than 50 miles from Ukraine’s border
Stanislaw Zaryn also warned of Russia’s increasingly aggressive intelligence activities following Poland’s expulsion last year of 45 Russian diplomats accused of being spies. ‘Russia is looking for new opportunities to act against Poland,’ he said.
‘We are dealing with attempts to obtain sensitive information, including photographing credit cards or browsing private telephones of Poles.
‘All this is used to collect data on what is happening in Poland and what movements our troops are making.’ He added: ‘The Russians use so-called soft blackmail, trying to intimidate the interrogated people.’
The latest arrests concern secret surveillance of railway routes near the airport in Rzeszów in south-eastern Poland, less than 50 miles from Ukraine’s border.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the airport has become one of the most important places for transferring Western weapons and ammunition.
It is reported that points of ‘critical infrastructure’ were also targeted in other parts of the country.
NATO allies in the former communist east such as Poland and Slovakia have been particularly vocal supporters of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Warsaw’s commitment to its neighbour has been important in persuading European allies to donate heavy weapons to Ukraine, including tanks, a move opposed by several governments, including Germany, until recently.
Poland has sent 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
In response to Russia’s military build up on Ukraine’s borders in January, Poland announced that it would supply weapons and ammunition to its neighbour.
And on the day of the invasion on February 24, Warsaw set up nine reception points to process refugees fleeing across the border. Since then, it has welcomed more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees – more than any other country.
Weapons provided by Poland include missiles, grenade launchers, rifles, drones, tanks, RPGs and ammunition – as well as tanks and other vehicles.
News of the sabotage plot came a day after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland could give MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming four to six weeks.
His comments suggest that Kyiv’s allies are moving closer to an agreement to step up their military support further for the embattled country.
Poland has said it would be prepared to send Soviet-designed MiG-29 jets to Ukraine as part of a coalition of countries.
However, with Kyiv’s allies taking a cautious approach to the transfer of fighter jets it has been unclear how long such a process might take.
NATO allies in the former communist east such as Poland and Slovakia have been particularly vocal supporters of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Poland has sent 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine (pictured on their arrival in Ukraine last month)
The arrests come just weeks after the minster responsible for the country’s special services revealed that nine other people suspected of collaborating with the Russian and Belarusian services had also been detained in recent months. Pictured: ABW’s HQ in Warsaw, Poland
‘That could happen in the coming 4-6 weeks,’ Morawiecki told a news conference when asked how long it could be before Warsaw supplies the aircraft.
Last Thursday Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said his Polish counterpart had told him at a European Union meeting on the previous day that Warsaw would agree to a joint process to hand over MiG-29 jets to Ukraine.
Nad said the time had come also for Slovakia to make a decision on whether or not to send jets to Ukraine.
Asked on Thursday how many MiG-29 planes Warsaw might supply, the head of the president’s office, Pawel Szrot, said it would ‘certainly not’ be as many as 14.