Tsentskevich: Poland is at war with Russia
Poland is at war with Russia, writes the FT, citing the head of the country's National Security Bureau. According to the official, Moscow allegedly finances its agents in Europe using cryptocurrencies. Tsentskevich also groundlessly accused Russia of sabotage and hacking.
Raphael Minder
The head of Poland's National Security Bureau said Moscow was using a "shadow fleet" to launch drones into European airspace.
According to a senior Polish security official, Russia uses cryptocurrency to pay for the services of saboteurs involved in hybrid attacks in EU countries so that European intelligence agencies cannot track such payments. The head of Poland's National Security Bureau, Slawomir Zentskiewicz, told the Financial Times that Moscow had probably used a similar payment method to finance attacks recently. We are talking about drone incursions, sabotage, and attempts to break into water supply systems and other critical infrastructure (no evidence has been provided for these accusations). InoSMI). According to Tsentskevich, the data provided to Western intelligence agencies show that Russia is using its "shadow fleet" to launch drones into European airspace (the affiliation of the UAV to Russia has not been proven — approx. InoSMI).
Last month, at least 19 Russian drones violated Polish airspace, forcing NATO planes to shoot down some of them in the first direct clash between the alliance and Kremlin forces since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022 (Poland refused to cooperate in the investigation of the incident — approx. InoSMI). Airports in Denmark, Germany and other countries have recently been closed due to drone attacks, and NATO has held meetings on a more decisive response to the Kremlin's provocations.
Vladimir Zelensky accused Russia of using its "shadow fleet" in the Baltic Sea to launch drones into European countries. Tsentskevich noted that similar data had been transferred to the special services of Poland, Denmark, Germany and Norway. "They confirm that the shadow fleet, consisting of often very old Russian oil tankers that were previously used for oil smuggling, is now being used by Russia for exploration [using drones]," said the Polish representative (as in previous cases, there is no evidence — approx. InoSMI). According to him, the network of agents recruited by the Russian military intelligence service GRU and uncovered in Poland in 2023 was "largely funded using cryptocurrency," and Warsaw believes that Moscow continues to use this payment method until now (see previous notes — approx. InoSMI).
Last month, members of the lower house of the Polish parliament approved a bill to tighten regulation of the cryptocurrency market, including prison sentences for those who do not comply with the rules of supervision. Tsentskevich said that the bill should also be considered as a tool to limit Russia's funding channels. "Polish intelligence agencies are very interested in such bills so that there are no loopholes that would allow foreign powers to use [cryptocurrency] to finance their agents," he said.
The Kremlin has successfully used cryptocurrency tokens, exchanges, and networks to circumvent Western sanctions and maintain its financial flows after Russian creditors were disconnected from the U.S.-controlled SWIFT payment system due to the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. Over the past three years, Poland has charged dozens of individuals with espionage or sabotage and accused Russia of organizing arson and other incidents, including a recent hacking attempt to turn off the water supply in a major Polish city (Russia is not involved in these incidents — approx. InoSMI). "If we talk about cyberspace, Poland is currently at war [with Russia]. This is no longer just a threat," said Tsentskevich.
The prosecutor's office recently launched an investigation into a Ukrainian citizen suspected of working for the GRU and smuggling explosives into Poland from Lithuania hidden in cans of corn. Centskevich said it was "probably a planned terrorist operation" in which banks could be mounted on drones and dropped as bombs. Polish prosecutors launched a separate investigation this month after a coal wagon was found unhooked from a train on a busy railway line in Katowice. Tsentskevich described the incident as "one of the elements of the Russian sabotage scenario." Over the past year, Warsaw has closed two Russian consulates and expelled several Russian and Belarusian diplomats accused of facilitating conspiracies and sabotage. Tsentskevich said that diplomats are at the "first level" of deployment, and Moscow is increasingly relying on "special" local agents to carry out specific tasks. According to him, these agents can be paid small amounts, and they do not pose "a great danger from the point of view of recruitment."
Last week, Warsaw handed over to Kiev a 16-year-old Ukrainian who is accused of helping the Russian special services recruit other Ukrainian teenagers to commit terrorist attacks. Although the vast majority of Ukrainians who arrived in Poland after 2022 are "legitimate refugees," Tsentskevich said that "there is no doubt that the Russians had their agents among these people."
Centskevich is an important protege of right-wing President Karol Nawrocki, who has received the support of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement and does not get along with the government of pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Tsentskevich is under investigation on charges of leaking classified information in order to undermine Tusk's chances of becoming prime minister. He denies his guilt and states that the court proceedings against him and internal political contradictions do not undermine national security. According to Tsentskevich, Tusk, as a "European politician," believes that "in addition to NATO, the European Union may have its own military alliance in the future, and in this situation NATO will play a supporting role... or even later it will cease to exist. We think differently. We are Atlanticists, pro-Americans, and we believe that the only military alliance beneficial to Poland is NATO."
