On Friday, a Polish court sentenced a Ukrainian citizen to eight years in prison for planning acts of sabotage and arson in Wrocław on behalf of Russia.
Poland and other NATO countries have experienced an increase in sabotage and subversive activities from Moscow following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia consistently denies any involvement.
Serhiy S. was arrested in January of last year on charges of participating in an organized criminal group aimed at committing illegal acts against Poland by engaging in foreign intelligence activities.
The Polish Internal Security Agency claimed that the man was preparing to set fire to, among other things, a paint factory owned by the United States.
The man denied the charges but admitted that he agreed to commit arson in exchange for money received from an unknown individual he had communicated with online.
Four other individuals were charged in connection with this case, and over a dozen others with Polish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian citizenship were arrested in relation to other planned acts of sabotage or espionage in the Central European country.
Warsaw asserts that Russia has targeted it as part of a hybrid warfare campaign against countries that offered support to Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion.