After the moves to break any diplomatic relations they still had with , but also to increase security measures in critical infrastructures, his government is moving forward in , after what was reported a few days ago on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line, but also against the background of the incredible intensity of Russian bombardment in western Ukraine that forced the Polish air force to raise Polish and NATO planes to secure Polish and Allied airspace.
More specifically, according to what the Polish authorities announced today, the government will deploy 10,000 soldiers to help protect critical infrastructure, such as railways, while at the same time it will close the last Russian consulate on Polish soil, the one in the city of Gdansk.
The government takes measures to prevent sabotage – Diplomatic confrontation with Moscow
Poland, Ukraine’s main ally against Russia, says two Ukrainians working with Moscow are responsible for the explosion that damaged the Warsaw-Lublin railway line, which connects Warsaw to the Ukrainian border. Yesterday Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was declaring the country to the highest level of threat on some railway lines.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told a press conference that the first reaction would be to close the last Russian consulate in Gdansk, in the north of the country. Warsaw had previously closed the Russian consulates in Krakow and Poznań due to acts of sabotage. “It was not only an act of sabotage, but also an act of state terrorism,” Sikorski said. Sikorsky also said he would ask other EU countries to limit travel by Russian diplomats to the 25-nation Schengen zone.
Moscow denies responsibility for the sabotage, citing “Russophobia”, and has said it will also limit Poland’s diplomatic and consular presence in Russia.
Christmas is a good time for sabotage, says the GES leader
For his part, Poland’s chief of the army general staff, Wieslaw Kukula, speaking to reporters together with the defense minister, warned that the coming long winter nights and the Christmas season may be seen by Poland’s enemies as an opportune time for sabotage.
A special application is being planned through which citizens will be able to report suspicious situations.
The perpetrators of Ukrainian origin fled to Belarus
Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesman for the minister in charge of intelligence services, said that in addition to the two main suspects, Ukrainians who have fled to Belarus, several more people have been arrested in connection with the blast on the railway line.
Polish prosecutors’ spokesman Przemysław Nowak said a prosecutor had signed a decision to indict the two Ukrainians — identified as Oleksandr K. and Yevgeny I. — for acts of sabotage on Nov. 15 and 16 at the behest of Russian intelligence.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the threat and they agreed on cooperation between special services and state railways, as well as the need to identify any accomplices. EU foreign policy chief Kaya Kalas said the attack highlighted the dangers to Europe’s rail infrastructure, which is vital for the rapid movement of military equipment and troops.
