Poland has decided to impose restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats on its territory due to Moscow’s “involvement” in “a hybrid war“, the foreign minister announced today in Warsaw, with Russia promising immediate “retaliatory measures”.

“I have just announced a decision by Poland regarding the involvement of the Russian state in a hybrid war against the EU, including Poland. There will be restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats in our country” Radoslav Sikorski told reporters in Brussels.

The restrictions will apply to all diplomats and other embassy staff in Warsaw, except for the ambassador.

They will be able to move only in the central region of Mazovia and the consuls only within the provinces where they exercise their duties, the minister clarified.

Underlining that Poland is not the first country to introduce such restrictions, Sikorski said he hopes and “others to follow our example“.

The Polish government attributes cyber attacks and several major fires to Russian intelligence.

Poland acts as a key logistics hub for Western support for Ukraine, resulting in a hostile response from Russia.

Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreyev, quoted by Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, said he had not yet been officially informed of the measures being taken.

“We have not yet been officially informed and given no explanation on this matter“, said the ambassador.

In Moscow, Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova promised for her part that Russia would take “retaliatory measures” against Poland after the decision.

Russophobia

“We will take retaliatory measures so that the Polish leaders, who are overwhelmed by Russophobia, will be very sorry for the upcoming anti-Russian measures they will takeZakharova said, according to Russian news agencies.

Poland recently announced that it had arrested several people suspected of acts of sabotage on behalf of Russian intelligence services, accused of beatings, arson and attempted arson.

According to figures provided by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, 12 people accused of sabotage were arrested last week.

“There has already been the arrest in Poland of a man who almost committed sabotage and there are other suspects. We hope that the Russian Federation will take these measures as a very serious warningSikorsky pointed out.

In mid-May, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the strengthening of Polish intelligence services following Moscow’s activities aimed at destabilizing the situation in Poland, according to Warsaw.

At the time he also stated that several acts of sabotage had been prevented “thanks to the vigilance of our services and our allies“.