Poland charges man allegedly paid by Russia to inflame Polish-Ukrainian tensions

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish prosecutors have charged a Ukrainian man with sabotage and diversionary activities on behalf of Russian intelligence, alleging he was paid to desecrate memorials honoring Polish victims of Ukrainian massacres in World War II in an effort to inflame tensions between the two countries.

Warsaw has long accused Russia of conducting hybrid operations aimed at driving a wedge between Poland and Ukraine. Poland has been one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, but anti-Ukrainian sentiment has been growing in the country.

Relations reached a low point in late June, when Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest state honor over Zelenskyy’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during WWII.

The UPA fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. However, it has also been accused of killing tens of thousands of Poles, primarily in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia.

Announcing the charges, Poland’s Internal Security Agency said the case had exposed “the mechanism of operation of Russian intelligence services, which pursued their own interests by inciting conflicts between the Polish and Ukrainian nations.”

According to Polish authorities, the 18-year-old Ukrainian national allegedly committed 47 criminal offenses between November 2024 and August 2025. In addition to allegedly desecrating memorial sites, he was charged with preparing a sabotage attack involving a drone.

Prosecutors said the suspect had intended to fly the drone over the car carrying the Polish president during a military parade in Warsaw on Aug. 15, 2025. He was arrested before the parade.

Prosecutors said evidence suggested the suspect was recruited online and paid in cryptocurrency.

In late June, the Internal Security Agency said they uncovered a Russia-financed scheme to influence the Ukrainian refugee community in Poland in order to spark protests among them and fuel social tensions.

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