Poland to shut Russia's last consulate in the country after railway sabotage
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s foreign minister said Wednesday that he will order the closure of the last Russian consulate still operating in the country after authorities said two Ukrainian citizens working for Moscow are suspected of blowing up a railway line in Poland.
Radek Sikorski said he had repeatedly warned Russia that its diplomatic and consular presence would be reduced further if it didn’t cease hostile actions against Poland, Polish news agency PAP reported.
“In connection with this, though it will not be our full response, I have decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the last Russian consulate in Gdansk,” he said. He added that Russia would be formally notified within hours.
The closure will leave Russia with only its embassy in Warsaw.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has described the weekend explosion on a line linking Poland’s capital, Warsaw, to the border with Ukraine as an “unprecedented act of sabotage.”
On Monday, Tusk told the Polish parliament that the two suspects had been collaborating with the Russian secret services for a long time. He said their identities were known but could not be revealed to the public because of the ongoing investigation, and that the pair had already left Poland, crossing into Belarus.
Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press. Moscow’s goal, Western officials say, is to undermine support for Ukraine, spark fear and divide European societies.
