Poland was on the verge of large-scale power outages due to Russian cyber sabotage - Minister Gawkowski

Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitalization, Krzysztof Gawkowski, announced the neutralization of the most powerful attack on the country's energy infrastructure in its history. According to the official, in late December 2025, Russian special services attempted to cause a complete power outage for Polish citizens. This was reported by UNN.

Details

During an interview with RMF FM radio station, Gawkowski emphasized that the situation was close to critical. The sabotage aimed to paralyze the country's energy system during the New Year holidays.

Digital tanks are already here. This was the most serious attack on energy infrastructure, aimed at cutting off electricity to citizens at the end of December. We were very close to a power outage.

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The main targets of the attack were one of the large combined heat and power plants and numerous renewable energy facilities across the country. The situation was complicated by unfavorable weather conditions, which created an additional load on the grids.

Investigation results and arrests

Polish special services and the Cybersecurity Center were able to timely identify and stop the interference. As part of the investigation into this case, a man was detained in Szczecin on suspicion of direct involvement in the sabotage operation. The detainee has already given testimony to the Krakow prosecutor's office.

Krzysztof Gawkowski emphasized that Russia is waging a full-scale hybrid war against Poland, where the energy sector is one of the main targets. Despite the scale of the sabotage attempt, state institutions proved ready to respond, which allowed avoiding a systemic blackout. 

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