A Polish court on Friday sentenced a Ukrainian, Serhii S, to eight years imprisonment for planning acts of sabotage on behalf of Russian services.
Poland and other NATO countries are said to have been experiencing increased sabotage, subversion and other hybrid warfare activity by Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
However, Russia has regularly denied involvement.
It was gathered that Serhii S. was arrested in January last year and charged with operating in an organised criminal group aimed at committing crimes against Poland by participating in the activities of foreign intelligence and preparing to set fire to buildings in Wroclaw in southern Poland.
He pleaded not guilty during the investigation and the trial, saying that he was motivated by financial gain and had no intention of actually setting fire to factory buildings or construction stores in Wroclaw.
In September, prosecutors filed a motion to sentence him to 3 years imprisonment without trial, but the court rejected the motion, saying the punishment agreed by prosecutors and Serhii S. was too mild.
The Wroclaw District court on Friday found Serhii S. guilty, though he has the right to appeal the verdict.
Ukrainian jailed for 8 years in Poland over sabotage
