Ukrainian citizens arrested in Poland and Romania over an alleged Russian plot

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – A Ukrainian citizen allegedly working for Russian intelligence services as part of a sabotage campaign was detained in Poland, while two others were arrested in Romania, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the individuals acting on behalf of the Russian intelligence services were allegedly preparing acts of sabotage involving the sending of shipments containing explosives and incendiary materials to Ukraine, which were intended to spontaneously combust or explode during transport.

The goal was to intimidate populations and destabilize EU countries supporting Ukraine, Polish prosecutors said, adding that two more Ukrainian citizens suspected of taking part in the same plot were detained in Romania.

Romanian authorities said Tuesday that two Ukrainians, aged 21 and 24, acting on behalf of Russian intelligence, deposited two parcels containing improvised explosive devices at an international courier company in Bucharest. Specialists from Romanian intelligence defused the devices, and the pair were placed under preventative arrest for 30 days.

The Ukrainian in Poland was one of eight individuals detained by authorities in recent days on suspicion of preparing acts of sabotage across the country, a spokesperson for the National Prosecutor’s Office said.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted about the detention of the eight people on X on Tuesday.

Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister coordinating special services, wrote on X that the actions Tusk referred to involved “conducting reconnaissance of military facilities and critical infrastructure, preparing resources for sabotage, and directly carrying out attacks.”

Polish authorities have detained dozens of people over suspected sabotage and espionage since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last month prosecutors in Poland’s Baltic neighbor, Lithuania, said that they uncovered and detained a Russia-linked network of suspects who are alleged to have planned and organized arson attacks in various European countries.

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.

The incidents range from stuffing car tailpipes with expanding foam in Germany to a plot to plant explosives on cargo planes. They include setting fire to stores and a museum, hacking that targeted politicians and critical infrastructure, and spying by a ring convicted in the U.K.