Officers of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) carried out searches in Warsaw and Tychy on Wednesday. They were related to an investigation into espionage activities on behalf of Russia, targeting European Union (EU) states and bodies. “EUR 48,500 and USD 36,000 were secured”, informed a spokesman for the Minister of the Coordinator of Special Services, Jacek Dobrzynski.

The carried-out operations are the result of international cooperation between the ABW and several European services, coordinated in particular with partners from the Czech Republic. As a result, activities aimed at organising pro-Russian initiatives and media campaigns in EU countries were documented. The aim was to implement the Kremlin’s foreign policy objectives, including weakening Poland’s position in the international arena, discrediting Ukraine, and the image of European Union bodies.

“The means to achieve the goal included the internet portal with an international reach voice-of-europe.eu, where articles, statements, comments or interviews with biased, pro-Russian overtones, related to the current international situation, including the war conducted by Russia against Ukraine, are published, informs the Agency. The services established the method of financing the described procedure; in addition to money, several electronic media, including mobile phones, were secured.

The ABW also conveyed that the activities are also the result of an investigation concluded in January, which gathered evidence against a Pole suspected of spying for the Russian secret services. The indictment in this case has already been sent to court.

Embedded in the milieu of Polish and European parliamentarians, the man carried out tasks commissioned and financed by collaborators of Russian intelligence, which included propaganda, disinformation, and political provocations. Their aim was to build Russian spheres of influence in Europe.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński