Poland announced on Friday that it had apprehended a professional athlete suspected of espionage on behalf of the Russian government. This arrest marks the 14th from a larger operation to dismantle a Russian spy ring aimed at disrupting arms shipments to Ukraine.
According to Polish prosecutors, the suspect, a Russian citizen, was connected to a network engaged in intelligence and propaganda activities against Poland, as well as planning acts of sabotage for Russia. Although they did not disclose the individual’s name, Polish news sources have reported that the detainee is a professional hockey player.
Poland’s justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, celebrated the capture in a tweet, proclaiming, “Russian spies are being taken down, one by one! We have apprehended a spy operating under the guise of a sportsman.”
Authorities have charged the suspect with espionage, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. This latest arrest follows the detention of nine foreign individuals in March accused of spying for Russia and plotting to sabotage Polish infrastructure used to transport weaponry to Ukraine.
Poland, a NATO member and a dedicated supporter of Ukraine, serves as a crucial transit point for Western countries supplying arms and ammunition to assist Ukraine in defending itself against Russia’s invasion. The discovery of a Russian spy ring aiming to disrupt Poland’s infrastructure represents a risky escalation by Moscow, as it has thus far refrained from targeting Alliance territory.
Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman for the Kremlin, suggested that Moscow’s embassy in Poland would “clarify the situation.” He acknowledged the challenging diplomatic climate but pointed to what he referred to as the embassy’s “Russophobic position.”
Prosecutors revealed that the suspect, who arrived in Poland in 2021, was paid to engage in activities involving the identification of critical infrastructure in several provinces.
Local Polish media outlets reported that the athlete played for Zaglebie Sosnowiec, the national hockey team. The team’s coach, Grzegorz Klich, confirmed the suspect’s arrest but noted that the player had signed with the team before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“We had no suspicions about him prior to this,” Klich stated in an interview with Fakt, a Polish tabloid. “He behaved normally, which is why we are surprised by this case.”
Polish intelligence officers apprehended the suspect in Silesia, a province in southern Poland, where he primarily conducted his activities.
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