Russian man indicted in Poland for spying

A Russian citizen who has been living and conducting business activities in Poland for many years has been charged with spying for Russia between 2015 and April 2022, Polish authorities said on Thursday.

Relations between Russia and countries once in the Soviet sphere of influence have long been fraught, but the invasion of Ukraine has increased suspicion about Moscow's intentions.

The man was detained in April on evidence that he had collected information concerning the military readiness of the Polish Armed Forces and of NATO troops that was then passed on to the Russian intelligence service.

An indictment was submitted last Friday to Gdansk District Court against the suspect, a spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdansk said in a statement.

"The suspect's espionage activity was focused on military units located in the north-eastern part of Poland, as part of which he carried out tasks of reconnaissance of important elements of the Polish Armed Forces," she said.

In addition, a number of corruption offences committed by the man relating to customs clearance of goods were revealed. The man faces up to 10 years in prison.

"The case...is one of several proceedings concerning activities for the intelligence services of Russia and Belarus against the Polish Armed Forces that prosecutors of the military affairs division are currently conducting," the spokeswoman added.