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Poland Detains 32 in Russia-Backed Sabotage, ABW Discloses Agent’s Sentence

Officials say the coordinated arrests follow a probe into a Russia-backed campaign targeting construction depots before spilling over into the Czech Republic.

Overview

  • ABW spokesman Jacek Dobrzyński said a 27-year-old Colombian national received an eight-year term in the Czech Republic and faces up to life in prison in Poland after a partial guilty plea for arson attacks.
  • The agency revealed the agent was trained by operatives linked to Russian intelligence on making incendiary devices and documenting attacks for propaganda.
  • Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the detainees include Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Colombian nationals suspected of aiding the sabotage operation.
  • Investigators have tied fires at two Polish construction supply depots, a Warsaw shopping centre blaze and a Czech bus depot attack to the hybrid warfare campaign.
  • Earlier this year Poland ordered the closure of Russian consulates in Poznan and Krakow in response to related sabotage incidents.