The Polish prosecutor’s office has arrested a saboteur suspected of setting fires in Warsaw on the orders of Russian intelligence services, according to a statement from the press service.

The prosecutor’s office has charged Belarusian citizen Stepan K. with setting fire to a large construction supermarket in Warsaw in April 2024, resulting in part of the store burning down and damages amounting to over PLN 3.5 million.

The investigation revealed that the day before the incident, on April 13, the suspect had spilled incendiary liquid in the supermarket and left a remote ignition device. On the night of April 13-14, 2024, the device went off, causing a fire.

The prosecutor’s office emphasized that the fire and the results of the sabotage were recorded by the suspect on his phone camera. These materials were later published on Russian propaganda websites.

Investigators discovered that Stepan K. committed the arson acting on the instructions of the Russian Federation’s special service.

Stepan K. has been accused of sabotage on behalf of foreign intelligence and committing a terrorist crime, for which the punishment ranges from 10 years to life imprisonment. He had previously been temporarily arrested in connection with another case involving espionage and participation in organized crime.

Russian intelligence network in Europe

This year, The Wall Street Journal published an article about a unit of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, deployed in 2023, specializing in sabotage operations in European countries.

A new structural unit of Russian intelligence has been formed from experienced agents who had previously participated in major operations, including the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in 2018.

The Special Tasks Department has three main tasks: organizing assassinations and sabotage abroad, infiltrating Western companies and institutions, and recruiting foreign agents.

One of the most high-profile incidents was the use of incendiary devices on DHL cargo planes, as well as attempted arson attacks in European cities, including Leipzig and Warsaw.

The establishment of the unit coincides with the increased activity of Russian agents in Poland. In April last year, Polish counterintelligence detained nine suspects who had carried out arson attacks on behalf of Russian intelligence services. Later, in October, four more agents were caught sending packages with explosives through transportation companies.