Polish police seize 250,000 photos of critical infrastructure from detained Russian national

Police in Świdnica, Poland, have seized 250,000 photographs from a Russian citizen detained on suspicion of espionage.

Source: Polish news portal RMF24, citing Karolina Gałecka, spokesperson for Poland's Ministry of the Interior and Administration, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Dolnośląsk police reported on 30 October that a court has ruled to place a 55-year-old Russian citizen detained in Świdnica under three-month pre-trial detention.

Police established that the Russian national had arrived in Poland on business. Analysis of data recovered from his storage devices revealed hundreds of thousands of similar files containing photographs of various locations and key transport infrastructure facilities, not only in Poland but also abroad.

The photographs showed key railway and other transport infrastructure facilities, including some designated as critical infrastructure.

Gałecka clarified at a press briefing on 30 October that police in Świdnica had secured 250,000 photographs. She added that further photographs and information were stored on other devices.

She said prosecutors will examine the material to establish who had commissioned the photographs and exactly how many there were. Investigators will also seek to determine whether the Russian national had already passed the material to a foreign state and in which countries the photographs had been taken.

The Interior Ministry spokesperson also said that when questioned by police, the man could not give a clear account of what he was doing in Poland, why he had come to the country or whether he was working there. She said his explanations were "inconsistent and illogical".

Asked whether the man had explained why he was taking the photographs and what he needed them for, she said he "was unable to give coherent answers to specific questions from police officers".

Tomasz Siemoniak, the Polish minister overseeing the country's security services, said it was unusual for a Russian national to be involved. Russian intelligence agencies had generally avoided deploying their own citizens on such operations because of the potential reputational fallout and the risk of arrest.

Background:

• The man was detained whilst taking photographs of passing trains and the city's railway infrastructure.
• On 22 October, Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office detained a Ukrainian national, Vadym Y. on suspicion of gathering information about NATO military facilities for Russian intelligence.

Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.