Polish counterintelligence has dismantled a Russian spy ring, Poland’s defense minister said Thursday.
“The whole network has been dismantled,” Mariusz Blaszczak told Polish public radio PR1. “It was an espionage group… collecting information for those who attacked Ukraine.
“The threat was real,” he added, without giving further details.
Poland’s interior minister is due to hold a press conference on the alleged spy ring operation at 11 a.m. local time (10:00 GMT).
Private Polish radio station RMF, citing unnamed sources, said Wednesday that the ABW, Poland’s counter-espionage service, had arrested six foreigners working for the Russian secret service and allegedly preparing for sabotage in Poland.
The suspects were reportedly arrested after the discovery of hidden cameras, which were placed on important railway routes and junctions, recording and transmitting data on traffic.
According to RMF, “dozens of devices” of this type were installed, mainly on sections of railways leading to the country’s southeast, including near an airport that is one of the main transfer points for Ukraine-bound Western weapons and ammunition.
Authorities are now on high alert and the security of railroads and strategic infrastructure has been reinforced, according to RMF.