Poland sentences three Ukrainians for arson amid Russian sabotage crackdown

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WARSAW (Reuters) -A Polish court handed down prison sentences to three Ukrainians on Friday for their roles in a string of huge fires in Poland and the Baltic states, as Warsaw aims to crack down on what it says is a wave of sabotage orchestrated by Russia. 

Poland has been a target of sabotage actions, which officials said have been part of a “hybrid war” being waged by Russia to destabilise the functioning of countries that support Ukraine, involving tactics like arson and cyberattacks.    

Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russian secret services of being behind a massive fire that almost completely destroyed a Warsaw shopping centre in May 2024.

Polish investigators were cooperating with authorities in Lithuania which accused Russia’s military intelligence of orchestrating an arson attack on an IKEA store in Vilnius, which broke out three days before the shopping centre fire in Poland.

Russia has denied involvement in the arson attacks.  

“All three defendants were convicted of participating (at various times in 2023-2024) in an organised group operating in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, and Russia, with the goal of committing sabotage and terrorist crimes,” prosecutors said in a statement.  

“The defendants acted jointly and in concert with each other and with other identified individuals, against whom the proceedings are continuing.”

Out of the defendants, referred to by their first names and an initial due to Polish privacy laws, Pavlo T. was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison, Serhii R. to 2 1/2 years and Vladyslav Y. to a year and 4 months of incarceration.

The verdict is not final and may be appealed.

(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Toby Chopra)