The District Court in the Polish city of Gdansk sentenced a Russian citizen accused of espionage on behalf of Russia to two and a half years in prison, local media reported.
Over the last few months, authorities arrested numerous individuals accused of spying on behalf of the Russian Federation inside Poland, Germany, Estonia, and Austria, raising questions about Russian influence inside Europe.
According to investigators, the man lived in the country legally and operated under the guise of running a business. The man worked on behalf of Russia inside Poland for seven years. He also became involved in activities of historical reconstruction groups, where he established contacts with active or retired soldiers.
He reportedly focused his activities on military units in the northeastern region of Poland, obtaining information from active or retired servicemen. The District Prosecutor's Office in Gdansk announced that the spy worked to identify elements of the Polish military, including, among other things, the location and structure of individual military units as well as equipment used by these units.
Two other men accused of corruption sat on the stand with the convicted spy and were each sentenced to one-year prison sentences.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on April 18 that Ukrainian and Polish law enforcement agencies detained a Polish citizen who allegedly offered to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky to Russian authorities.
The suspect, on his own initiative, intended to learn the security apparatus of the Rzeszow airport in Poland, with the intention of helping Russian intelligence services plan a potential assassination of Zelensky during the latter's visit to Poland.
Around the same time, German authorities arrested two German-Russian nationals suspected of planning a military sabotage plot on behalf of Russian intelligence. The men were accused of preparing a plot to carry out explosive and arson attacks on military and industrial sites in Germany, including on U.S. military bases in the country.
Nate Ostiller
(Updated: )
