Poland accuses Russia of stoking instability amid constitutional crisis, border alert

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday accused Russia and pro-Russian actors of trying to fuel instability in Poland by exploiting the country's escalating constitutional crisis, as authorities also reported thwarting a suspected provocation on the border with Russia's Kaliningrad region.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Tusk said Moscow was seeking to amplify the confrontation surrounding Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, where a struggle over the court's leadership has developed into an open conflict between his government and President Karol Nawrocki.

"We see the activity of Russia and pro-Russian politicians - in the world and in the country - around the defense of the Constitutional Tribunal," Tusk said.

He said Poland was facing tensions "provoked by the Russians," linking the activity both to the dispute in Poland and alleged Russian interference surrounding the US midterm elections.

Tusk said Russia had a well-established method of exploiting existing political divisions rather than necessarily creating them from scratch, with the aim of increasing instability.

The accusations came as Polish authorities stepped up security measures along the country's northeastern border with Russia.

Tusk said that shortly after midnight, he received a report from the Border Guard concerning "disturbing movements" on the frontier with the Kaliningrad exclave, including people carrying flashlights.

"We very quickly mobilized the appropriate forces and resources there and managed to prevent a provocation," he said.

Tusk did not provide details about who was involved in the overnight incident or what form the alleged provocation was expected to take.

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal crisis intensified last week after senior judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska suspended tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Vice President Bartlomiej Sochanski and assumed responsibility for the court's work.

Nawrocki, an ally of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) opposition, accused the government of carrying out a forcible takeover of the court and cut short a foreign trip to return to Warsaw.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and a former president, described the developments as a "constitutional coup."

Tusk said such statements were evidence that Moscow was seeking to use Poland's internal political confrontation for its own purposes.