The military counterintelligence service has identified two additional individuals working for foreign intelligence agencies, according to Stanisław Żaryn, deputy minister coordinating special services. The detainees in recent weeks were linked to Russia and Belarus.
Russian spy arrested
The cabinet coordinating special services announced that the military counterintelligence service located another espionage suspect tied to Russia. The man was detained and charged by the prosecutor with spying for Russian intelligence. A court order stated he would be held in custody for three months.
The foreigner arrested on Tuesday is suspected of carrying out reconnaissance activities for Russian special services.
Evidence shows that he gathered information on critical infrastructure in the Pomorskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeships and on security services and agencies. The collected data was passed to Russian intelligence, according to the cabinet.
The agency added that the suspect confessed to the crime, describing the actions and his recruitment by the Russian service. The man has reportedly carried out tasks for the Russian agency since at least January 2023.
The suspect is another case identified by SKW as an employee of foreign services last month.
The man worked for the Belarusian intelligence service
On March 1, another foreigner who worked for the Belarusian special services was detained based on military counterintelligence information. The man was charged with espionage for Belarusian intelligence, and materials indicate he conducted reconnaissance of sites important to Poland’s security, including locations related to the Polish armed forces. A court in Lublin ordered three months of pre-trial detention.
Since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Polish services have detained 20 people suspected of cooperating with Russian or Belarusian intelligence.
SKW’s recent successes, according to Stanisław Żaryn, have made the agency a target of a hacker attack. Indeed, a brief unavailability of the SKW website occurred, but actions were quickly neutralized and the site was restored. A DDoS attack was also noted by Żaryn on a separate occasion.
Żaryn emphasized that these events can be viewed in the context of responses to the effective steps taken by Polish counterintelligence. He reminded that both ABW and SKW have been successful in countering Russian intelligence activity in recent months.
These developments come amid ongoing international efforts to curb espionage activity, with NATO and allied partners highlighting the threat posed by espionage networks operating across Eastern Europe. The authorities continue to monitor and respond to suspected cases with swift legal and investigative actions.