Polish authorities formally accused Russian spy agencies last month of starting the huge blaze which gutted one of Warsaw’s largest shopping malls last year. The May 2024 inferno completely devastated the Marywilska shopping complex, where some 1,400 small businesses had offices most owned by members of Poland’s Vietnamese community.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared on Sunday on social media that Polish intelligence concluded the fire had been caused by arson, which was allegedly ordered by Russia’s special services. “We now know for certain that the great fire of the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw was caused by arson ordered by the Russian special services,” he wrote.
Both ministries, in a joint statement, confirmed that many of the persons suspected of staging the attack were already in police custody, although others are on the loose. The operation, they added, was “prepared and coordinated by an individual located in the territory of the Russian Federation.” The Polish authorities, too, were cooperating closely with the Lithuanian authorities because some of the suspects are known to have attempted similar acts of sabotage there.
Since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland a vocal NATO and EU member has witnessed a rising number of alleged Moscow-linked sabotage attempts. Warsaw’s authorities have already arrested suspects for committing cases of arson, violence, and espionage purportedly on Russian intelligence’s behalf.
As a counter to mounting threats, Poland has increasingly hardened its position against Russia, limiting the activities of Russian diplomats and closing consular offices, including the Russian consulate in Poznan. In response, Russia closed Poland’s consulate in St. Petersburg in January.
Being one of the principal nodes of Western military support for Ukraine, Poland has been of prime strategic interest to make it a priority target in what the authorities have called Russia’s “hybrid war” against the West.
