Poland denounced the Russian intelligence agency, which has orchestrated a massive fire that nearly completely destroyed a shopping centre in the capital Warsaw last year.
In a post in X, Prime Minister Donald Tass said that Poland’s Prime Minister knew “certainly” that the fire at the Mary Virsuka Shopping Centre was caused by arson ordered by special Russian services.
Some of the responsible persons have already been detained, Tusk added, but it is allegedly allegedly involved.
Moscow has not commented on the allegations, but has previously denied any charges of sabotage in Europe.
The May 2024 fire destroyed 1,400 small businesses, and many staff members were members of Warsaw’s Vietnamese community.
Poland conducted a year-long investigation into the incident and now concludes that the fire was organized by an unknown Russian person.
A joint statement by the Minister of Justice and the Interior of Poland said that the actions of those in detention were “organized and directed by certain people living in the Russian Federation.”
The two ministries added that they are working with Lithuania.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has detained and convicted several people accused of obstruction on behalf of the Russian intelligence reporting agency.
Polish officials say these attacks are part of the “hybrid war” that Moscow unleashed.
Hybrid battles are when an anonymous, negativable attack is carried out in situations where hostile conditions are usually very suspicious. It would be sufficient to just harm the other party, especially the infrastructure assets, but it would not lead to any acts that could cause war.
NATO also believes Russia is running a “hybrid war” in Europe, with the aim of punishing or deterring Western countries from continuing military support for Ukraine.
Russia has denied repeated allegations that secret services by NATO countries engage in sabotage throughout Europe.
The Mary Wilska Shopping Centre opened in 2010, and many workers lost important documents and a large amount of cash amid the fire.
Three months after the fire, a temporary shopping centre was opened by the owners of Mary Wilska, with about 400 traders reopening their business.
Alternative shopping centre for Modlinska 6d in Warsaw opened in October 2024, with traders moving their business to a new site.
