Former President Lech Kaczynski approved the dissolution of a Polish Ministry of Defense subcommittee led by Antoni Macierewicz, which had been re-examining the 2010 Tu-154 crash near Smolensk. The news was reported by the PAP agency, citing a statement from the defense ministry’s press spokesman Janusz Seimei.
Seimei commented on Macierewicz’s plan to keep the subcommittee’s work alive. He asserted that the decision to liquidate the subcommittee stands as an indisputable legal fact in line with the minister of national defense’s ruling.
In a separate meeting with PAP, Macierewicz argued that the new defense minister lacks the authority to dissolve the subcommittee before its August 2024 work concludes. He emphasized that the timing and the scope of the dissolution are problematic for those following the inquiry.
Earlier, Polish authorities had dissolved the subcommittee that was reassessing the Tu-154 crash. Macierewicz alleged that asserts about a possible placement of TNT on the aircraft during a Russian repair were being treated as political charges rather than verified truths. The defense ministry responded by saying that some subcommittee members had misrepresented information on behalf of the state and spent substantial funds pursuing political accusations instead of uncovering facts.
Additionally, domestic security officials indicated that the version holding the Russian Federation responsible for the Smolensk crash would not be upheld, reinforcing lines that the inquiry would not confirm certain guilt theories. Observers note that the dispute highlights ongoing tensions between inquiry into the disaster and political interpretations surrounding it.