Poland arrests man on charges of spying for Russia and plotting Zelensky's assassination

A Polish man has been charged for allegedly taking part in a Russian plot aimed at assassinating Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, as per the authorities in Ukraine and Poland.

According to the Polish authorities, the Polish man named Paweł K was tasked “to help, among other things, in planning by Russian special services a possible attack on the life of the head of a foreign state – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky,” as per a statement on Thursday (April 18).

According to the prosecutors, the man was willing to provide information to Russian spies regarding the security details at Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in southeastern Poland, which is nearly 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Poland's border with Ukraine.

It is known that Zelensky uses the airport when departing on foreign trips since it is one of the airports closest to the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said that the suspect allegedly "proactively established contact" with Russian military command representatives and "informed them of his readiness tocooperate" with the Russian Federation's foreign military intelligence agency.

Polish man faces eight yearsimprisonment if convicted

According to the office, the suspect, if convicted, can face up to eight years in prison. "This case underscores the persistent threat Russia poses not only to Ukraine and Ukrainians but to the entire free world," said Kostin.

"The Kremlin's criminal regime is constantly trying to undermine European and global security. It organises and carries out sabotage operations on the territory of other sovereign states," he added.

The news of a Polish man working as a spy came just hours after German police stated that two suspected Russian agents were arrested by them in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth.

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The two individuals, who were identified as German-Russian nationals, faced accusations of plotting sabotage attacks and also being involved in an explosive detonation, as per a statement by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe.

In April 2023, Zelensky visited Poland and was accorded a warm welcome by its citizens as well as President Andrzej Duda.

Poland is located on the western border of Ukraine. After the Russian invasion, Poland took many refugees who had fled from Ukraine.

(With inputs from agencies)