Poland detains reservist suspected of spying on military sites
- News comes amid a series of espionage and sabotage investigations in Poland as Warsaw says foreign intelligence services are targeting military and critical infrastructure
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- News comes amid a series of espionage and sabotage investigations in Poland as Warsaw says foreign intelligence services are targeting military and critical infrastructure
By Jo Harper
WARSAW (AA) - Polish military police have detained a Polish-Ukrainian dual national suspected of carrying out reconnaissance of military installations while attending an officer training course for reservists, officials said Monday.
Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk confirmed that the man was detained at the Military Medical Academy in the central city of Lodz after attracting the attention of Poland’s Military Counterintelligence Service.
“He clearly revealed himself as someone carrying out reconnaissance of certain installations of the Polish Armed Forces,” Tomczyk told reporters.
He stressed that the circumstances are still being investigated and that suspicions of espionage would have to be established through legal proceedings.
The man was detained Friday on the orders of the Lodz-Polesie District Prosecutor’s Office after an investigation by military counterintelligence.
He had acquired Polish citizenship some time previously and also holds Ukrainian citizenship, Tomczyk said. Polish authorities may contact Ukrainian security services as part of the investigation.
The academy confirmed that a participant in its reserve training program had been detained but declined to disclose further details.
According to daily Rzeczpospolita, officers found several cellphones, sets of documents and stamps, large amounts of foreign currency, and gold in the man’s possession. Authorities have not publicly confirmed those details.
A court was expected Monday to consider whether the suspect should be placed in pretrial detention. Polish media said it was not yet known which foreign intelligence service he was suspected of working for.
The case comes amid a series of espionage and sabotage investigations in Poland as Warsaw says foreign intelligence services have increasingly targeted military and critical infrastructure since the start of the Ukraine war in early 2022.
In May, Poland’s Internal Security Agency detained three Polish nationals accused of working for a foreign intelligence service. Investigators said the group had conducted reconnaissance of NATO troop deployments in Poland and had been preparing for possible sabotage operations on instructions from a Russian citizen linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.
More recently, Polish authorities said a September arson attack on a Starlink ground station in central Poland was carried out on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. Investigators also detained another person who had allegedly photographed and filmed the installation and its security arrangements before the attack.