- The National Prosecutor’s Office announced on Thursday (April 18) that Paweł K., who declared his readiness to act for Russia’s military intelligence, was detained and charged in Poland. According to the investigation, Paweł K.’s information was intended to help in a possible attempt on the life of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Even if we are dealing with an isolated incident of a madman, we must realize that currently we should all be focused on security, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk, commenting on reports of the detention of a Pole suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence.
The arrest of Polish citizen Paweł K. – suspected of reporting his readiness to act for the intelligence of the Russian Federation – took place on Wednesday on Polish territory as a result of, as emphasized by the spokesperson of the Prosecutor General, prosecutor Anna Adamiak, close cooperation of the Polish National Prosecutor’s Office with the Internal Security Agency and with The General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine.
– The detainee was charged with reporting readiness to act for foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland, qualified under Art. 130 pairs 3 of the Penal Code
– said prosecutor Adamiak.
Art. 130 para. 3 of the Penal Code states that “whoever declares readiness to act for the benefit of a foreign intelligence service against the Republic of Poland or in order to provide a foreign intelligence service with information the transmission of which may cause damage to the Republic of Poland, collects or stores it or enters an IT system in order to obtain it, shall be subject to the penalty imprisonment from 6 months to 8 years.
The investigation findings show that suspect Paweł K. declared his readiness to act for the military intelligence of the Russian Federation and established contacts with citizens of the Russian Federation directly involved in the war in Ukraine.
– His tasks included collecting and providing the military intelligence of the Russian Federation with information on the security of the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport. This was, among other things, help Russian special services plan a possible attack on the life of the head of a foreign state – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky
– said prosecutor Adamiak.
Against the suspect Paweł K. District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw Warsaw imposed arrest – according to the prosecutor’s office – due to the need to secure the proper course of the proceedings. The investigation is ongoing. It is conducted by the Internal Security Agency under the supervision of the National Prosecutor’s Office, on the side of which the case is handled by the Masovian Branch of the Department of Organized Crime and Corruption.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine forwarded the information about the possibility of committing a crime by Paweł K. to the Polish prosecutor’s office. Then, during the investigation, key evidence in the case was obtained from the Ukrainian side as part of legal assistance.
– It should be emphasized that there is very good cooperation between the National Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Security Agency on the Polish side, with the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine. Coordinated actions of Polish and Ukrainian services allowed for securing evidence also outside Poland
– concluded prosecutor Adamiak.
Prime Minister: we all need to focus on security
The Prime Minister took part in a two-day informal summit of the European Council. After the meeting, the head of government announced that the leaders of the member states discussed, among others: about the threat related to Russian attempts to interfere in the elections to the European Parliament.
As he explained, it is about the use of disinformation and other forms of cyber aggression during elections.
– Both the Prime Minister of Belgium and the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic made it clear that we all have reasons to fear Russian interference, whether through the Internet or disinformation.
– he said.
The Prime Minister pointed out that an example was the scandal related to the Voice od Europe portal, which – according to the Czech civilian counterintelligence – published pro-Russian and disinformation content. The Czech services also determined that people associated with the portal could have paid politicians of several European countries, including – as Tusk said – Poles representing the right side of the political scene.
– Today it takes on particular importance in the context of information about the arrest of a Pole who was in the process of preparing an attack on President Zelensky. It is known about his attempts to contact Russian intelligence. His arrest was absolutely justified
– Tusk emphasized.
In the opinion of the head of government, this situation illustrates that “even if we are dealing with an isolated accident of a madman, we must realize that we should all currently be focused on safety.”
The Prime Minister appealed to Poles.
– I would like to appeal to everyone, without exception, not to do anything that could weaken Ukraine today
– he said.
