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Poland says it thwarted a Russian plot to kill a Ukrainian American in Warsaw
Confirmed
What we know
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Thursday that Polish authorities had detained a Russian citizen recruited by Russian intelligence to kill a man holding Ukrainian and U.S. passports in Warsaw. The suspect was arrested Aug. 7; Warsaw police said he would be held for three months. Tusk called the target “inconvenient to the Putin regime” and said services stopped the attack “at the last minute.”
Tusk framed the case as the first known instance of someone acting on Russian orders seeking to attack a U.S. citizen on the territory of another NATO country. Poland’s security minister said the operation was carried out with U.S. services cooperation. The Russian Embassy in Warsaw did not immediately comment; Moscow has routinely denied Western accusations of sabotage and targeted killings in Europe.
What's confirmed
- Tusk public statement: Russian national detained Aug. 7 over planned killing of a Ukrainian-American in Warsaw (AP, Reuters/NBC, Al Jazeera, CNA).
- Polish framing: first known Russia-ordered attack targeting a U.S. citizen on another NATO country’s soil.
- Polish officials: Internal Security Agency and police led the arrest; cooperation with U.S. services cited.
What's still developing
- Identity of the intended target and fuller public evidence of the recruitment chain.
- Any formal charges beyond the initial detention and custody order.