Poland’s Military Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment on Friday against a Russian and a Belarusian who it claims had been spying in Poland for Russian intelligence for several years.
Disclosing the details of the suspects’ activities, investigators allege the two carried out reconnaissance of Polish military units in the northeastern part of the country as well as of operations conducted by Polish services in response to migration pressure from Belarus.
The men, whose identities were not disclosed, were apprehended in April 2022 and were accused of espionage on behalf of Russian military intelligence from 2017 until the time they were exposed.
The spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, Aleksandra Skrzyniarz, said materials gathered by the Military Counter-Intelligence Service and investigators led to the conclusion that the two men had identified military installations of critical importance to Poland’s security.
They were specifically interested in Polish military activities near the border with Belarus, including the number of troops deployed in the area, the structure of military units, the use of special equipment by the Polish army, and cooperation with armies of other NATO countries.
The spokesperson added that the men gained information about fighting capabilities, morale, and the functioning of units during “a time of increased threat.” Intelligence services have found that both the Russian and the Belarusian resided in Poland legally.
The citizen of Belarus studied in one of Poland’s universities and then worked on organizing parachute trainings, where he established contacts that he used for his work for Russian military intelligence. The second man worked for Russia’s GRU under the cover of employment in the cultural and tourist sector.
