Warsaw, Oct 21, (dpa/GNA) – Poland’s intelligence service has detained eight individuals, on suspicion of planning sabotage.
The suspects were apprehended in various parts of the country in recent days, Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X on Tuesday.
Romania’s security agencies were also involved in the operation.
The suspects are said to have scouted military facilities and parts of critical infrastructure, intelligence coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak said. Additionally, they are alleged to have prepared means for carrying out acts of sabotage and attacks.
Siemoniak’s spokesman said among the suspects is a 21-year-old Ukrainian, who was arrested on October 16. The man reportedly worked in a warehouse near Warsaw. His two Ukrainian accomplices were apprehended in Romania.
A statement from the prosecutor’s office indicated that the 21-year-old, is suspected of having carried out orders from Russian intelligence services, along with other individuals.
These orders allegedly involved preparing shipments with detonators and chemical substances, that could cause a fire or explosion, and sending them to Ukraine. These shipments were intercepted by Romanian authorities before they could explode.
The two Ukrainians arrested in Romania handed over two packages containing explosive devices at the Bucharest office of Ukraine’s largest courier company, Nova Post, according to the Romanian domestic intelligence service (SRI).
The men had entered Romania from Poland. The bombs were defused in time, the SRI said.
The explosive devices, made of thermite and barium nitrate, were disguised as car parts or headphones and could have been remotely detonated. The two suspects acted like intelligence professionals, the SRI further reported. Investigations into the matter are ongoing.
Poland is one of the most important political and military supporters of Ukraine, which has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.
The government in Warsaw accuses the intelligence services of Russia and its ally Belarus, of sending agents into the country and recruiting saboteurs.
The spokesman for the intelligence coordinator said that in recent months alone, 55 individuals have been apprehended, who acted on behalf of Russian intelligence services to the detriment of Poland.
GNA