Poland has decided to close the consulate of Russia in the city of Cracow in retaliation for what it considers an act of sabotage, reports Efe after a statement from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The government accuses Moscow of being involved in the fire that destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw last year. Additionally, Poland has called the Russian ambassador for consultations for the same reason.
The Polish government claims to have evidence that the fire was an act of sabotage ordered by Russian security services.
In response, Polish diplomacy announced that consent for the consulate's operation has been withdrawn.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in a message on the social network X that "we now know for certain that the major fire on Marywilska street was the result of an arson ordered by Russian services."
According to Tusk, "the operation was coordinated by a person in Russia." He indicated that some of the perpetrators are already in custody, while the rest have been identified and are being sought. "We will catch them all!", he emphasized.
These statements were preceded by a joint statement from the Polish Minister of the Interior, Tomasz Siemoniak, and the Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, who stated that, "based on the evidence collected, we know that the fire was set at the request of Russian special services."
The ministers detailed the extent of the investigation, which lasted a year and involved dozens of prosecutors and police officers, with an on-site inspection of the fire remains for 121 days and 70 interrogations.
The Polish authorities also explained that they have been cooperating with Lithuania to clarify this case, of which "we thoroughly know the sequence of events and how the fire unfolded, as well as how the perpetrators carried it out," according to Bodnar and Siemoniak.
The fire at Marywilska 44, which on May 12, 2024, destroyed 90% of what was the largest shopping center in the Polish capital, is framed, according to Polish authorities, in a "series of sabotage acts in Poland and other countries in the region orchestrated by Russia."
Warsaw has repeatedly denounced that Russian intelligence services recruit and hire individuals living in those countries, often Ukrainian and Belarusian immigrants, to carry out these attacks.
This incident recalls the case of a Belarusian citizen, identified as Stepan K., accused in March of this year of causing another fire in a large DIY store in Warsaw on April 14, 2024, using flammable liquid containers and remote control devices.
Last year, Poland had already ordered the closure of another Russian consulate, that of Pozna, in response to acts of sabotage and cyber warfare attributed to Moscow.