Poland exposes two Russia-linked spies, one jailed

Polish authorities have uncovered two separate espionage cases linked to Russian military intelligence, underscoring growing security concerns amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

On February 3, Poland’s Military Counterintelligence Service detained an employee of the country’s Ministry of National Defence on suspicion of cooperating with Russian intelligence services, as reported by Polish outlet Onet. 

The suspect is a long-serving mid-level official in the Ministry’s Department of Defence Strategy and Planning.

The man was arrested upon arriving at his workplace after several months of surveillance, during which counterintelligence officers monitored his activities, documented his actions, and analyzed his alleged contacts with Russian-linked structures. A source cited by Onet described the detention as “one of the biggest successes” of Poland’s military counterintelligence in recent years.

In a separate case, a Polish court has sentenced a civilian to prison for spying for Russia’s military intelligence, per local outlet RMF24. 

A 50-year-old man identified as Paweł K., a resident of the border town of Hrubieszów near Ukraine, was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

Investigators established that Paweł K. collected sensitive information on security measures at Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport, a key logistical hub used to support Ukraine and facilitate international travel by Ukrainian citizens during the war. Prosecutors said the information could have been used to plan attacks or assassination attempts against high-ranking Ukrainian officials.

The investigation also revealed that the defendant had expressed willingness to join Russia’s Wagner Group and a unit of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. The District Court in Zamość convicted him on all charges.

By Khagan Isayev