Poland has detained a Russian citizen accused of preparing to assassinate a U.S. citizen of Ukrainian origin in Warsaw on behalf of Russian intelligence, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Thursday (August 13). The suspect was arrested last Friday (August 7) in an operation involving Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), police and U.S. authorities.
Speaking at a press conference, Tusk described the case as unprecedented, saying it was the first known instance in which someone acting “on the order of Russia” sought to attack an American citizen on the territory of another NATO member. He said the intended victim was considered “inconvenient to the Putin regime,” but did not identify the person or provide details about the planned attack.
“At the last minute, thanks to the action of the Internal Security Agency and the police, we managed to prevent this execution, this attack,” Tusk said. In an X post, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister responsible for coordinating special services, confirmed that the alleged assassination was planned to take place in Warsaw and said the operation was conducted in cooperation with U.S. services. The suspect is expected to remain in custody for three months, according to Polish police.
Additionally, Tusk warned that Russia could continue attempting to eliminate individuals it considers hostile, saying authorities must assume that the Kremlin will target “people who are inconvenient for various reasons, in various places around the world.”
This new incident follows a recent suspected political killing case in Poland. In June, Russian artist and Putin critic Robert Kuzovkov, known by his pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot dead near his home in eastern Poland. Polish authorities have not attributed that killing to Russia, although Tusk said at the time that it bore the hallmarks of a political assassination.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had not immediately commented on the Warsaw case, while the U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reports but had no additional information.
European authorities have previously disrupted suspected Russian plots against critics also in France, Lithuania and Germany, including cases involving Russian dissidents and officials or executives connected to support for Ukraine.
Sources: commonspace.eu with Al Jazeera (Doha) and The Independent (London).
