Poland has thwarted a Russian plot to assassinate a Ukrainian-American citizen in Warsaw, an incident Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as unprecedented and the first time Russia has sought to attack a U.S. citizen on the territory of another NATO country.
A suspect, allegedly recruited by Russian secret services, was detained by Polish authorities on August 7 and will be held in custody for three months, according to a statement from the Warsaw police.
Tusk stated that the targeted individual "was uncomfortable for the Putin regime," but did not provide further details on the motive or the victim's identity beyond that they were a U.S. citizen of Ukrainian origin. The operation was conducted in cooperation with U.S. services, according to Poland's minister overseeing intelligence services, Tomasz Siemoniak.
Western officials have warned that Russia has intensified a campaign of targeted killings since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with several plots disrupted across Europe. However, Tusk emphasized the unique nature of this specific incident.
"We must assume that the Putin regime will try to eliminate people who are inconvenient for various reasons, in various places around the world," Tusk said Thursday, urging Poland and its allies to remain vigilant against such actions. Western intelligence agencies view this campaign as part of Russia's broader strategy to destabilize European nations supporting Ukraine.
Reports of Russian involvement in targeted killings abroad, including the use of poisons, are not new. However, intelligence officials have noted an increased brazenness in recent years, with Russian security services targeting not only activists and foreign supporters of Ukraine but also military defectors. The Associated Press has documented approximately 200 acts of sabotage, arson, and other disruptions across Europe since the war's commencement that officials have linked to Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously denied waging a sabotage campaign against Europe. Historical incidents include the 2006 poisoning of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London, the 2018 nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, and the 2019 killing of a former Chechen rebel commander in Berlin, for which Germany blamed Russia. More recently, in June, a Russian artist critical of Putin was killed in eastern Poland, an event Tusk suggested bore the hallmarks of a political assassination, though Polish officials have not yet officially attributed it to Moscow.
Previous plots disrupted in Europe include one in France aimed at a Russian exile, and others in Lithuania targeting a Ukrainian supporter and a Russian activist. German authorities have also broken up plots against a German weapons company executive supplying Ukraine and a Ukrainian military official. In 2024, Polish authorities arrested an individual in connection with a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who had defected was killed in Spain, with Russian operatives considered the prime suspects.
A senior European intelligence official previously described this campaign as systematic, stating, "There is political authorization."