According to the Polish government, a Polish citizen has been arrested for providing intelligence to the Russian government on Ukrainian and foreign activity near the Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Eastern Poland. This airport is near the Polish-Ukrainian border and has been an influx point for Western aid entering Western Ukraine. The purpose of collecting this intelligence was to assassinate President Zelensky during a visit to Poland. The announcement from the Polish National Public Prosecutor’s Office reads below:
“According to the findings of the investigation, the suspect Pavel K. declared his readiness to act for the benefit of the military intelligence of the Russian Federation and established contacts with citizens of the Russian Federation directly involved in the war in Ukraine. One of his tasks was to collect and provide the military intelligence of the Russian Federation with information on the security of the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport. This was supposed to help m.in Russian special services plan a possible attempt on the life of the head of a foreign state, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.”
Ukrainian-Polish Cooperation
The suspect was arrested on April 17th, 2024, after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General provided intelligence to the Polish government on his activities. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office made this statement:
“Ukrainian prosecutors and SBU officers informed their Polish colleagues about the possible commission of a criminal offense and handed them key evidence in this case as part of the provision of international legal assistance
Thanks to successful measures and prompt exchange of information between the two countries, the recruited agent of the russian special services was identified and detained on the territory of Poland.”
Accelerating Clandestine Activity
This revelation comes the same day as several Russian agents were arrested in Germany after plotting to sabotage U.S. military infrastructure in that country. These two arrests taken together, clearly illuminate how the Russian security services are increasing and enhancing their plots to degrade Western support for Ukraine as the war drags into its second year. However, these high-profile arrests are likely to have the opposite effect as German and Polish citizens realize the pervasiveness and severity of the infiltration of Russian security services into their own countries. This is the first arrest of an individual working accused with Russian security services of actively planning to assassinate the Ukrainian head of state, albeit rumors have persisted that the GRU and FSB have been looking for opportunities.
