Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that acts of sabotage inspired and organised by Russia are aimed at destabilising the country and bear the hallmarks of "state terrorism."
The warning comes after an explosion over the weekend damaged railway tracks on the Warsaw-Lublin route, which connects the capital to the Ukrainian border. Tusk described the incident as an "unprecedented act of sabotage."
Poland has identified two individuals responsible, Ukrainians collaborating with Russian intelligence who have fled to Belarus. Warsaw has requested their extradition, closed the Russian consulate in Gdansk (the last one still operating in the country) and deployed thousands of troops to protect critical infrastructure.
Russia-backed sabotage has crossed a "critical line"
Moscow has denied involvement, accusing Poland of "Russophobia" and warning that it will limit Poland's diplomatic and consular presence in Russia.
"Recent events leave no room for any illusions: Russia is implementing another phase of hybrid warfare aimed at destabilising our country," Tusk told parliament. "The sabotage operations, inspired and directly organised by the Kremlin's services for many months, have recently crossed a critical line, and one can now speak of state terrorism."
Poland and other European nations have faced a wave of arson, sabotage, and cyberattacks since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.