The Polish authorities accused Russian intelligence services on Sunday or orchestrated a fire that destroyed a large shopping center last year in the capital of Warsaw.
From Russia’s offensive in February 2022 against Ukraine, Poland, a kyiv loyal ally, claims to be the goal of sabotage attempts that blame Russia.
In May 2024, a fire that completed a large shopping center in Warsaw and the 1,400 small companies that housed, most of them owned by members of the Vietnamese community.
The authorities immediately initiated an investigation, but until now they had refrained from blaming Moscow.
“Now we know with certainty that the great fire of the Marywilska Shopping Center in Warsaw was caused by the fire caused by Russian special services,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in X.
Justice and interior of Mines said in a separate and joint statement on Sunday that some of the alleged perpetrators were already in custody, while others had been released.
“His actions were organized and directed by a specific person who lives in the Russian Federation,” the two ministries said, he added that they cooperated with Lithuania, “where some of the perpetrators also carried out acts of diversion.”
From the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland has arrested and condemned several individuals arrested in the name or Russian intelligence services, accused of assaults, fires caused or fire attempts caused.
In May 2024, Poland imposed restrictions on the movements of Russian diplomats in their soil, due to Moscow’s “participation” in a “hybrid war.”
Five months later, Warsovia ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Poznań, in western Poland, accusing Moscow or orchestrating “sabotage attempts.”
In December, Polish diplomacy said it was willing to close all Russian consulates in Poland if the acts of “terrorism” continued.
Russia closed in January the Polish consulate in St. Petersburg in retaliation.
Ukraine, Poland, a member of NATO and the European Union, is one of the main ones through which Western nations supply kyiv weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine fight against Russian troops.
