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Poland Closes Last Functioning Russian Consulate After Rail Sabotage
(MENAFN) Poland moved swiftly on Wednesday to shutter the last functioning Russian consulate on its territory, ordering the mission in Gdansk closed as authorities escalate their response to weekend attacks on key rail lines, according to Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
“Russia has not stopped these attacks; it is escalating them,” Sikorski told reporters in Warsaw, reiterating that Moscow denies any role. “When the intention of sabotage is human casualties, we are dealing with state terror. For that reason I have decided to close the Russian Consulate in Gdansk. This will not be our full response.”
He said he intends to file a formal extradition request for the suspected saboteurs currently in Belarus “today or tomorrow.”
Sikorski detailed fresh intelligence findings on two recent attempts to derail passenger trains on major corridors linking Warsaw with Lublin and Deblin. According to the minister, investigators concluded that the assailants were Ukrainian nationals acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence, the GRU, which he described as frequently using operatives with fabricated identities.
“This will be met with our response, not just diplomatic, which we will inform you about in the coming days,” he said.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that two Ukrainian suspects identified by Polish services had already crossed into Belarus.
One incident involved an explosive device detonated on the Warsaw–Lublin line near the Mika station. In the other, saboteurs allegedly damaged the traction system and placed a metal clamp on the tracks in an apparent bid to trigger a derailment.
Sikorski also linked the sabotage to heightened political tensions around Poland’s Nov. 11 Independence Day. He condemned a nationalist march in Warsaw where an EU flag was burned and criticized President Karol Nawrocki for, in his view, downplaying Russian aggression while accusing domestic rivals of yielding sovereignty to the European Union.
The latest incidents add to a pattern of suspected Russia-backed operations targeting Poland and neighboring states over the past year.
Moscow continues to deny any involvement.
“Russia has not stopped these attacks; it is escalating them,” Sikorski told reporters in Warsaw, reiterating that Moscow denies any role. “When the intention of sabotage is human casualties, we are dealing with state terror. For that reason I have decided to close the Russian Consulate in Gdansk. This will not be our full response.”
He said he intends to file a formal extradition request for the suspected saboteurs currently in Belarus “today or tomorrow.”
Sikorski detailed fresh intelligence findings on two recent attempts to derail passenger trains on major corridors linking Warsaw with Lublin and Deblin. According to the minister, investigators concluded that the assailants were Ukrainian nationals acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence, the GRU, which he described as frequently using operatives with fabricated identities.
“This will be met with our response, not just diplomatic, which we will inform you about in the coming days,” he said.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that two Ukrainian suspects identified by Polish services had already crossed into Belarus.
One incident involved an explosive device detonated on the Warsaw–Lublin line near the Mika station. In the other, saboteurs allegedly damaged the traction system and placed a metal clamp on the tracks in an apparent bid to trigger a derailment.
Sikorski also linked the sabotage to heightened political tensions around Poland’s Nov. 11 Independence Day. He condemned a nationalist march in Warsaw where an EU flag was burned and criticized President Karol Nawrocki for, in his view, downplaying Russian aggression while accusing domestic rivals of yielding sovereignty to the European Union.
The latest incidents add to a pattern of suspected Russia-backed operations targeting Poland and neighboring states over the past year.
Moscow continues to deny any involvement.
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