OMM Newsroom
Polish military police have detained a Polish-Ukrainian dual national suspected of conducting reconnaissance of military installations while attending an officer training course for reservists, according to Anadolu Agency.
Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said the man was detained at the Military Medical Academy in the central city of Lodz after drawing the attention of Poland’s Military Counterintelligence Service.
“He clearly revealed himself as someone carrying out reconnaissance of certain installations of the Polish Armed Forces,” Tomczyk told reporters.
Tomczyk said the circumstances were still being investigated and that suspicions of espionage would have to be established through legal proceedings.
The man was detained on Friday on the orders of the Lodz-Polesie District Prosecutor’s Office, following an investigation by military counterintelligence.
He had obtained Polish citizenship some time ago and also holds Ukrainian citizenship, Tomczyk said. Polish authorities may contact Ukrainian security services as part of the investigation.
The academy confirmed that a participant in its reserve training programme had been detained but declined to provide further details.
Daily “Rzeczpospolita” reported that officers found several mobile phones, sets of documents and stamps, large amounts of foreign currency, and gold in the man’s possession. Authorities have not publicly confirmed those details.
A court was expected to consider on Monday whether the suspect should be placed in pretrial detention. Polish media said it was not yet known which foreign intelligence service he was suspected of working for.
Other espionage and sabotage investigations in Poland
The case comes amid a series of espionage and sabotage investigations in Poland. Warsaw says foreign intelligence services have increasingly targeted military and critical infrastructure since the Ukraine war began in early 2022.
In May, Poland’s Internal Security Agency detained three Polish nationals accused of working for a foreign intelligence service. Investigators said the group had conducted reconnaissance of NATO troop deployments in Poland and was preparing possible sabotage operations on the instructions of a Russian citizen linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.
More recently, Polish authorities said a September arson attack on a “Starlink” ground station in central Poland was carried out on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. Investigators also detained another person who allegedly photographed and filmed the installation and its security arrangements before the attack.
