Moscow ordered the closure Friday of Poland’s Consulate within the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in a tit-for-tat transfer as relations between the international locations stay strained over a Warsaw hearth that Poland alleges was Russian sabotage.
Russia’s Overseas Ministry stated the most recent closure was retaliation for Poland’s choice in Might 2025 to shut the Russian Consulate in Krakow. “No unfriendly assault in opposition to our nation will stay with out an applicable response and penalties,” the Russian company stated.
Poland’s closure in Krakow was in response to a blaze at a Warsaw buying middle that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated was arson commissioned by Russian safety providers.
Noone was killed within the Might 12, 2024 hearth on the Marywilska 44 buying middle, but it surely destroyed a market of 1,400 retailers and repair factors, with most of the distributors from Warsaw’s Vietnamese neighborhood.
Russia has denied its involvement within the Marywilska hearth and different acts of sabotage in Poland that Warsaw officers have attributed to Moscow.
Poland final 12 months ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate in Poznan, in response to acts of sabotage, together with arson assaults, that officers stated had been sponsored by Moscow.
The newest closure leaves just one Russian Consulate in Poland, within the metropolis of Gdansk.
Russian and Polish relations have soured since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2024, with Warsaw staunchly supporting Kyiv and offering support.
There even have been rising considerations that Russia is attempting to destabilize Europe via covert operations throughout the continent.
On Tuesday a British jury convicted three males of arson in an assault on an east London warehouse that was storing tools destined for Ukraine. Authorities stated Russian intelligence was behind the plot.
International locations alongside NATO’s jap flank, like Poland and the Baltic states, really feel particularly weak. In March, Lithuania accused Russia of finishing up an arson assault at an IKEA retailer within the capital, Vilnius, final 12 months.