FILE PHOTO: The row of masts with Polish national flags is seen in Bemowo Piskie near Orzysz, Poland
Poland neutralises sabotage group linked to Belarus and Russia
Reuters: 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.
In World
-
China imposed temporary anti-dumping measures on brandy imports from the European Union on Tuesday, hitting brands from Hennessy to Remy Martin, after the 27-state bloc voted for tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs).
-
Vladimir Putin will hold an urgent meeting with the Iranian president on Friday over the crisis in the Middle East.
-
Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar has said that he will “behave himself” during his upcoming trip to Pakistan, marking the first visit by a top official to the rival country in almost a decade.
-
Albanian police fired tear gas to disperse opposition protesters who hurled petrol bombs at government buildings and smashed city property in what they said was part of a civil disobedience against the government.
Leave a review