Poland thwarts sabotage group linked to Russia and Belarus

PHOTO CAPTION: The row of masts with Polish national flags is seen during trial drills prior to annual artillery show ‘Autumn Fire 23’ at a military range in Bemowo Piskie near Orzysz, Poland, September 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish security services have neutralised a sabotage operation orchestrated by Russia and Belarus that aimed to destabilise Poland, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Monday.

Warsaw has repeatedly accused Moscow of attempting to destabilise Poland because of its role in supplying military aid to its neighbour Ukraine, allegations Russia has dismissed.

Saboteurs, operating from Belarus in cooperation with Russia, penetrated local and central government institutions, including state-owned companies implementing military contracts, he said.

"The Belarusian and Russian foreign services... had a specific goal - to extort information, to blackmail individuals and institutions and to wage a de facto cyberwar," said Gawkowski, who is also minister for digital affairs.

He said the operational goal, to steal data for blackmail purposes, had been thwarted.

Gawkowski says cyberattacks have doubled since last year, targeting Polish organisations and institutions, including logistics companies that run military deliveries to Ukraine.

"In cyberspace, dangers come every hour, every minute. It often happens that there are over a thousand incidents in a day," said Gawkowski, who in June said Poland had blocked several cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure.

Poland has also linked Russia to incidents of sabotage and arson on its soil and says Russian secret services are actively trying to gather information on weapons deliveries to Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.



(Reporting by Barbara Erling; Editing by Ros Russell)