Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies

Woman photographs Poland's Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport

Polish prosecutors said the suspect agreed to give Russian spies security information about Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport

(Image credit: Damian Lemański / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 19 April 2024

What happened

Poland said Thursday it arrested a Polish man who was collaborating with Russian military intelligence to aid in a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hours earlier, Germany charged two Russian-German nationals with planning attacks at U.S. military facilities to sabotage aid to Ukraine.

Polish prosecutors said the suspect, Pawel K, had agreed to give Russian spies security information about Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, a military aid staging stronghold about 60 miles from Ukraine, to help "Russian special services" plan a "possible attack" on Zelenskyy's life. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said security services prevented "possible explosive attacks" and thwarted "a particularly serious case of alleged spy activity for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's criminal regime." Russia's Berlin embassy called the charge an "outright provocation."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.