Poland detains 11 Ukrainian, Belarusian suspects over stirring tensions among Ukrainian refugees

Poland‘s Internal Security Agency (ABW) detained nine Ukrainian and two Belarusian nationals on suspicion of organizing demonstrations among Ukrainian refugees, with authorities pointing the finger at Russia for escalating social tensions in the country, Polish authorities said on Monday.

The suspects have been detained in recent days in the capital, Warsaw, and the cities of Wroclaw, Krakow, Zakopane, and Bydgoszcz in a joint operation by the ABW and the Border Guard.

All of them would be deported from Poland, authorities said.

Tomasz Siemoniak, the government minister in charge of Poland’s security services, wrote on X that the suspects had recruited and paid participants to attend demonstrations within the Ukrainian refugee community since the fall of 2025.

The ABW alleged that they used reports of corruption scandals in Ukraine to encourage participation in demonstrations.

In the statement, the ABW said the influence campaign was “an example of activity below the threshold of conventional aggression,” which was aimed at undermining public trust, accentuating social tensions, and exploiting people who had fled the war in Ukraine.

“The funding and direction for the activities originated in Russia,” state news agency PAP reported Siemoniak as claiming.

The arrests come amid what the ABW has described as an unprecedented rise in hostile intelligence activity.

In its latest annual assessment, the agency said it opened 48 espionage investigations in 2025, more than twice as many as the previous year, citing Russia and Belarus as the principal sources of the threat.

Prosecutors are looking into whether the activities were directed or funded by people connected to Russian intelligence services. No evidence has been made public in court.

Poland has repeatedly warned that Moscow is attempting to exploit sensitive domestic issues—including support for Ukrainian refugees, agricultural imports, and historical disputes—to weaken public backing for Kyiv.

The investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors have not yet announced whether additional arrests or charges are expected.