Poland to close Russian consulate in Poznan, citing alleged sabotage attempts

Poland is shutting down the Russian consulate in the western city of Poznan due to suspected Russian attempts at sabotage, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Tuesday.

Moscow said it would retaliate against the decision, Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported.

Poland says its role as a hub for the transport of military supplies to Ukraine has made it a target for Russian espionage and acts of sabotage and arson.

The move to shut the consulate follows a court case involving a 51-year-old Ukrainian citizen accused of planning to set fire to a paint factory in the western Polish city of Wroclaw.

The daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported last week that prosecutors had reached an agreement for the suspect to serve three years in prison. But a Wroclaw court rejected the deal saying it was too lenient, a court spokesman said.

The case is now back with the prosecution and is expected to return to court for trial.

“The court found that there was strong evidence that there was an attempt of sabotage and that foreign intelligence was behind this sabotage,” Sikorski told reporters.

“As the minister of foreign affairs, I have information that the Russian Federation is behind sabotage attempts in Poland and allied countries. In connection with this, we withdrew our consent to the functioning of the Russian consulate in Poznan.”

RIA quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as calling the move “another hostile step.” She promised a “painful” response.

Western officials believe operatives paid by Russia are behind a number of crimes across Europe, including break-ins and arson at factories and critical infrastructure, physical attacks and even a reported assassination plot against the CEO of Germany’s largest arms company.

Russia has regularly denied any involvement.