Poland investigating Russian espionage, security agency says
PHOTO CAPTION: Poland's flag flutters near the European Union flag on the building of the Polish Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Corinna Kern
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) has carried out searches as part of an investigation with other European security services into alleged Russian espionage, it said on Thursday.
A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies. It accuses Moscow and its ally Belarus of trying to destabilise it.
"Actions aimed at organising pro-Russian initiatives and media campaigns in EU countries have been documented," ABW said in a statement, mentioning the website voice-of-europe.eu which it says published pro-Russian material.
Searches were made in Warsaw and Tychy in western Poland on Tuesday it said, without giving more specific details.
The operation was coordinated with other countries, in particular with partners from the Czech Republic, it said.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday called reports of pro-Russian attempts to influence EU politicians worrying and said the Netherlands would "do what is necessary."
"This shows how great the risk of foreign influence is," Rutte told journalists in The Hague. "It's a threat to our democracy, to our free elections, to our freedom of speech, to everything."
A Dutch member of parliament known for making pro-Russian statements was named in Czech media reports.
On Wednesday, the Czech government sanctioned two people including pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk and the news website voiceofeurope.com, for what it said was leading a pro-Russian influence operation in Europe.
The ABW's latest actions stemmed from an investigation completed in January this year in which a Polish citizen suspected of spying for Russian special services was indicted.
"The man, who was placed among Polish and European parliamentarians, performed tasks commissioned and financed by collaborators of Russian intelligence, which included propaganda, disinformation and political provocations," it said.
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
