“We can see further efforts to find people willing to work for Russian intelligence against Poland,” said Stanisław Żaryn, Deputy Minister of the Secret Service Coordinator. He added that the services are aware that this is a permanent part of the threats the Polish state will face in the coming months.
When Stanisław Żaryn was asked on Radio Three about the network of spies whose job it was to derail trains carrying transport to Ukraine, he recalled that this network had been identified by the Internal Security Service and that 16 people had already been charged. He added that there is an effort to recreate the network and recruit new people.
We are familiar with this modus operandi, but it is not so that we can sleep peacefully, because we have caught everyone and nothing happens. Unfortunately, we are in a place where counterintelligence services are currently required to operate at a very high level of activity
he noticed.
Żaryn clarified that the statement “refers to a particular process”.
I would like to remind you that in March we first talked about the biggest blow to the espionage network: it was the first Homeland Security arrest, but subsequent actions and arrangements allowed us to detain more people involved in activities for the Russian secret services. At this point, we see that this investigation requires further action and determination
he assessed.
method
He added that the services treat this form of Russian intelligence activity “as something that will be reborn, which is a certain modus operandi that is technically quite simple for the Russian side.”
This still remains a challenge as we see further efforts to find people willing to work for Russian intelligence against Poland
he said.
Żaryn recalled that the research involves people who cooperate with Russia, but are of different origins.
As we have reported in recent months, the detainees include citizens from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. All this means we are dealing with an espionage network that recruits foreigners from across our eastern border. This demands so much from the Polish services that we are dealing with people from directions who have been present in Poland for a long time
he said.
He added that these people are unremarkable in appearance and function, and they integrate quite well into Polish society.
This is an additional challenge for the counterintelligence services, of which we are aware
he said.
He pointed out that recent research by Polish counterintelligence agencies shows that people who cooperate with Russia or Belarus focus on reconnaissance of important objects, including military units, railways and airports.
All this is interesting to the Russians and you can clearly see the attempt to recognize such places – also with the help of such collaborators.
he noticed.
He stressed that the Polish services should work very actively in the field of counterintelligence and identify Russian or Belarusian activities.
We are aware that this is a certain permanent element of the threats that the Polish state will face in the coming months and even years
he assessed.
Hidden Agents
On August 18, the Washington Post reported that the Polish counterintelligence service had built up a network of amateurs, formed by Russians, Belarusians and pro-Russian Ukrainians, recruited in Poland by the Russian espionage service GRU, who, among other things, sabotaged arms deliveries to Ukraine, fight against Russia.
According to the Washington Post, the plot in Poland “reflects the outsourcing model long used by terrorist groups, including the Islamic State, who use online methods to recruit agents and conduct panic attacks remotely.”
The article was based on interviews with more than a dozen intelligence agents in Poland, Ukraine and the United States, as well as information from documents, accounts of the suspects on social media, and interviews with relatives and associates of the arrested recruits. Moscow continues to recruit amateurs and the investigation into the sabotage network has led the ABW to other suspects. Among them is 20-year-old Russian hockey player Maksim S., who plays for Zagłębie Sosnowiec, who was detained in June after being caught checking border crossings into Ukraine.
READ MORE: ABW apprehended another Russian spy! Ziobro: He acted under the guise of an athlete. He was a player of a 1-league club
edy/PAP
Source: wPolityce