Polish defence ministry employee arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia

A Polish Ministry of Defence employee detained on 3 February on suspicion of working for foreign intelligence services has been remanded in custody for three months.

As reported by Onet, a Polish news outlet, a court has ordered the temporary detention of the 60-year-old Polish Defence Ministry employee for a period of three months.

On Tuesday 3 February, the man was detained at his workplace. He has been charged under Article 130.2 of the Polish Penal Code, which concerns "espionage for foreign intelligence services".

Onet reports that the detainee, identified as Włodzimierz P., is suspected of cooperating specifically with Russian and Belarusian intelligence services.

Poland's military counterintelligence had been monitoring his activities for several months and gathering evidence in the case. He now faces a potential sentence ranging from eight years to life imprisonment.

Also on 3 February, it became known that a resident of the Polish border town of Hrubieszów was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for collecting information for Russian intelligence, including on security measures at the strategic airport of Rzeszów.

Recently, Poland also issued a warrant for the arrest of a former soldier who had acted in Russia's interests.