Poland has charged five individuals with arson at a shopping center in Warsaw, linked to Russian sabotage.
Kyiv • UNN
Five individuals are accused of terrorism and sabotage on behalf of Russia. Among the suspects is a Ukrainian who filmed the fire for Russian special services.
Polish prosecutors have charged five individuals, including a Ukrainian national, in connection with the arson of the Marywilska 44 shopping center in Warsaw in 2024, which authorities link to a broader Russian sabotage campaign targeting supporters of Ukraine. This was reported by TVP World, writes UNN.
Details
Polish authorities quickly established that the arson of the shopping center in Warsaw, which occurred on May 12, 2024, was a terrorist act carried out by a network of agents recruited by Russian military intelligence (GRU).
Now, as a result of the investigation by the National Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, the identities of the suspects have been established.
Of the five accused individuals, three will be charged with sabotage. Two of the defendants are alleged to have been involved in attacks in both Poland and the Baltic states.
The National Prosecutor's Office announced that 19-year-old Ukrainian Danylo B. has been charged with "participation in an organized group whose purpose was to commit acts of sabotage and terrorist crimes, consisting of arson of large facilities located in European Union countries."
These crimes were reportedly committed "with the aim of seriously intimidating a large number of people and, as a result, influencing public opinion." These actions also aimed to deliberately cast suspicion on Ukrainian citizens, TVP Info added, as they were most often recruited.
Prosecutors added that Danylo B. was also charged with acting "in the interests of the special services of the Russian Federation" for filming the fire at the Warsaw shopping center and sending this recording, which was subsequently used by Russian media, to Oleksandr Varyvoda – the leader of a Russian sabotage group who is on an international wanted list.
The penalty for sabotage in Poland ranges from 10 years imprisonment to life imprisonment. However, Danylo B.'s case is complicated by the fact that he is not in Poland, but is already imprisoned in Lithuania for the arson of an IKEA store in Vilnius on May 8, 2024 – a few days before the fire in the Polish capital.
Oleksandr H. is the second person charged with sabotage in both Poland and the Baltic states. Danylo B. met with Oleksandr H. in Warsaw in April 2024, after which they agreed, at the GRU's direction, to set fire to IKEA shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia for 10,000 euros. The pair was detained by anti-terrorist police on May 13 of the same year while traveling by bus from Poland to Latvia.
The third is Belarusian Stepan K., who has already been charged in Poland with committing eight crimes, including an attempt to set fire to a warehouse in Gdańsk in March 2024 and the arson of a pallet warehouse in central Poland in April 2024.
In addition, Stepan K. was allegedly involved in a gang led by the notorious Polish leader Olgerd L., known as Olo. According to investigators, this involvement included arson of a restaurant, arms trafficking, and incitement to attacks.