Poland charges Colombian with terrorism in connection with arson attacks ordered by Russia

The Homeland Security Agency (ABW) says the 27-year-old Colombian national was acting on behalf of Russian intelligence when he carried out two arson attacks in Poland last year. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

Polish authorities charged a Colombian citizen with terrorism on Tuesday over suspected involvement in two arson attacks ordered by Russia.

"Officials of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) have determined that a 27-year-old Colombian, acting on behalf of Russian intelligence, was behind two arson attacks carried out in Poland in May 2024," said Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, during a press conference.

The ABW stated that the 27-year-old suspect, who had entered Poland from Spain, set fire to two construction materials warehouses in May last year on orders from Moscow as part of a hybrid warfare campaign.

Dobrzyński said the man had been trained by Russian intelligence services on how to produce incendiary materials, build Molotov cocktails and document the effects of sabotage.

According to a statement from ABW, the suspect's actions are consistent with previous incidents identified in many Central and Eastern European countries.

"It has been confirmed that Russian services, using Telegram, have systematically and on a large scale recruited individuals of Latin American origin with military experience to observe locations they were shown, then set fire to selected objects and document the destruction," the ABW statement said.

Russian intelligence agencies are reportedly encouraging citizens of South American countries entering EU countries under visa-free regimes to commit crimes and offering them an easy way to make money.

Fires in Warsaw and Radom

The first incident occurred on May 23 last year in Warsaw, when a building materials warehouse caught fire. A week later, on May 30, a similar facility in Radom was engulfed in flames.

"Thanks to the immediate intervention of firefighters, the fires were quickly extinguished," said Dobrzyński.

As ABW explained, Russian-language media used both fires for propaganda purposes, particularly the fire in Radom, which was falsely described as a “logistics center with military aid for Ukraine.”

The Colombian was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Czech court in June this year for setting fire to a bus station in Prague and preparing to set fire to a local shopping mall.

The suspect has partially admitted guilt and could face life in prison.

This is not the first case of this kind.

Jacek Dobrzyński stressed that "in addition to these acts, disinformation from Russian services is also extremely dangerous."

"Russian services are trying to spread disinformation, they are trying to divide Poles, they are trying to separate Poles from members of the European Union or NATO," he said.

Poland and several other countries in the region were victims of a series of acts of sabotage last year, including a fire that completely destroyed the largest shopping mall in Warsaw.

In May, Poland announced it would close the Russian consulate in Kraków after evidence emerged that Moscow was behind the fire.

And in October last year, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called on Moscow to close its consulate in Poznań and declared its employees persona non grata in response to a series of sabotage and cyberattacks.

Officials have accused Russia of waging a hybrid warfare campaign, particularly targeting countries that support Ukraine, and say Moscow often recruits Ukrainian and Belarusian immigrants to carry out attacks./Euronews/