- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed Thursday that his country arrested a Russian man hired by Moscow to kill a Ukrainian-American citizen who was "inconvenient to the ."
- Tusk said the suspect was taken into custody Friday, with the alleged target being a man in Warsaw, "Thanks to the truly brilliant action of our services ... we detained a Russian citizen recruited by Russian intelligence services," Tusk was quoted saying, adding that the target held both Ukrainian and U.S. passports.
- Tusk stated, "At the last minute, thanks to the action of the Internal Security Agency and the police, we managed to prevent this execution, this attack."
- Tusk called the incident a very dangerous signal and thanked Poland s security services.
- Experts warned that the reported plot comes amid a rise in threats from Russia, which has been accused of killing critics abroad, including through contract killers and poisonings.
- The news agency reported that it has mapped about 200 acts of sabotage, arson and other disruption across Europe since the start of the Ukraine war that officials have linked to Russia.
- In June, a Russian artist who was critical of Putin was shot and killed at close range near his home in eastern Poland. Tusk said at the time that the killing had the hallmarks of a political assassination.
- Last year, French officials disrupted a plot which they believe was aimed at killing Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian exile who lives under police protection and works to help military defectors flee Putin s war. Lithuanian officials also disrupted a plot last year to kill a Lithuanian supporter of Ukraine and another against a Russian activist. Officials in Germany have similarly broken up two plots: one to target the head of a German weapons company supplying Ukraine, the other against a Ukrainian military official.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that a Russian citizen was arrested for plotting to kill a Ukrainian American in Warsaw, marking a troubling first for NATO countries. The suspect, detained on August 7, was allegedly recruited by Russian intelligence to target a man deemed "inconvenient to the Putin regime."12
Tusk emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, "At the last minute, thanks to the action of the Internal Security Agency and the police, we managed to prevent this execution, this attack." This incident highlights a growing trend of Russian threats against critics abroad, with Tusk noting, "We must assume that the Putin regime will try to eliminate people who are inconvenient for various reasons, in various places around the world."3
The operation was conducted in cooperation with U.S. intelligence services, according to Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence. Tusk described the plot as a "very dangerous signal" and a significant escalation in Russian aggression, as it marks the first known attempt to target a U.S. citizen on NATO territory.
Experts have warned of a rise in Russian threats, with numerous incidents of political assassinations linked to the Kremlin. Tusk's announcement comes amid a backdrop of increased scrutiny on Russia's actions in Europe, including a series of disrupted plots against various individuals critical of the regime.7
“The suspect was detained Friday in cooperation with US authorities, and Tusk credited the Internal Security Agency and police for the last-minute intervention. The plot comes amid a rise in Russian-linked sabotage, with about 200 acts mapped across Europe since the Ukraine war began.”
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