Poland charges man with orchestrating sabotage from Russia

WARSAW, Dec 2 - Polish prosecutors are charging a Russian in absentia with directing a group of saboteurs and spies as part of a suspected destabilisation campaign due to Warsaw's strong support for Ukraine.

Poland has long accused Russia and its ally Belarus of waging a hybrid war of sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Last month, Poland closed the last Russian consulate in its territory and deployed thousands of soldiers to protect infrastructure after an explosion on a railway track that it blamed on Ukrainian collaborators with Russian intelligence.

Moscow dismisses the accusations as "Russophobia".

Prosecutors said 28-year-old Mikhail Mirgorodsky used the Telegram messaging application to direct a group of some 30 people who carried out sabotage in Poland on behalf of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

"The investigation findings indicate that Mikhail Mirgorodsky, while residing in Russia, organised Russian intelligence activities in Poland in 2023 and led an organised criminal group carrying out espionage, sabotage... and propaganda activities," they said in a statement.

They have made five charges against him in absentia, including ordering threats against Ukrainians in Poland, arson attacks, ordering a thwarted attempt to derail a train in 2023 and financing crime with cryptocurrency exchanges.

ARRESTS

Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) said 16 people in Mirgorodsky's group were arrested in 2023: 12 Ukrainians, three Belarusians and one Russian. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 13 months to six years and also faced fines.

Eight others - a Pole, a Lithuanian, three Belarusians, a Ukrainian and two Russians including Mirgorodsky himself - have now also been charged, with six of those at large outside Poland. Authorities are trying to identify at least six other suspected members of the group.

"Members of the group communicated with each other via encrypted channels, which were used to transmit orders, determine their execution, and document their completion (photos, video footage)," the ABW said.

"Payment for completed tasks was transferred in cryptocurrencies."

There was no immediate reaction to the charges from Moscow, though it has in the past often denounced a Western smear campaign over sabotage claims.

The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. REUTERS