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Poland arrest four in probe into military supplies sent to Russia

Reuters

WARSAW, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Polish ‌authorities arrested four people on charges of spying for Russian intelligence services and ​providing them ‌with military components, the Polish Internal Security ‌Agency (ABW) said on Thursday.

Two others, who were accused of participating in an organised criminal group, have ‌been placed under "non-custodial preventive measures," it said.

Among the six suspects are five Poles, aged 25 to 52, and a 37-year-old Russian woman.

The arrests add to ⁠a series of espionage and sabotage cases in ‌Poland. The agency suspects ⁠about 100 people of involvement in such incidents ​since January 1, 2024, according to Tomasz Siemoniak, the head of Poland's special services.

The detainees ​conducted activities on behalf of the Russian ​special ‌services and participated in activities supporting the military potential ​of the Russian Federation, the ABW said ⁠in a statement.

The group illegally ‌supplied Russia with ​significant quantities of military components ​used, among other things, for the production of ammunition and weapon systems, it added.

"Russia is subject to a strict embargo in this area, ‌and this operation was designed to circumvent it," Siemoniak, the head of Poland’s special services, told ‌reporters.

The ​Russian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Kremlin has consistently denied conducting sabotage operations in NATO countries or plotting any confrontation.

(Reporting ‌by Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Sharon Singleton)