Poland arrests six suspected of spying for Russia and supplying its military
The charges against the group of six also include violations of regulations governing the international trade in goods and technologies of strategic importance for national defence and international security.
Poland, a key supporter of neighbouring Ukraine in its war against Russia, said on Thursday it had arrested six people suspected of spying for Moscow and supplying its military.
Among the detained are five Poles between the ages of 25 and 52, as well as a 37-year-old Russian national, the coordinator of Poland's special services, Tomasz Siemoniak, wrote on X.
Four suspects, including the Russian national, have been charged with espionage and placed in pre-trial detention for three months, Poland's internal security agency (ABW) said.
"The group is believed to have illegally supplied Russia with significant quantities of components for military use, employed in particular in the production of ammunition and weapons systems," they said.
The charges against the group of six also include violations of regulations governing the international trade in goods and technologies of strategic importance for national defence and international security.
A member state of the EU and NATO located on the alliance’s eastern flank, Poland has repeatedly accused Russia of "sabotage" since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Polish territory is the main transit route for Western military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland had foiled a possible provocation during the night at the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Group active since 2023
According to the investigation's findings, the criminal scheme operated from June 2023 until December 2025.
The group's activities extended across Poland, Lithuania and Russia and it was responsible for ordering and purchasing goods, arranging their collection, and transporting them across the border into the Kaliningrad Oblast.
To transport the items, suspects used vehicles equipped with hidden compartments. They then crossed the Polish-Russian border on numerous occasions. However, some of the goods were intercepted by Polish border authorities.
The items traded illegally were ammunition components, including shell casings and projectiles.
According to the prosecutor's office, the total value of the components purchased and transported to Russia exceeded 2 million Polish Złoty (€455,430).
Charges for those detained
In addition to the espionage charges, four of the suspects have been charged with acting for the benefit of Russian intelligence against the Republic of Poland.
The Internal Security Agency (ABW) is now conducting further investigation to establish the full extent of the group's activities.
According to Siemoniak, nearly 100 people have been charged as part of espionage and sabotage investigations conducted by the ABW since 1 January 2024.
