Polish prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old Ukrainian man, identified as Illia K, with 47 criminal acts carried out between November 2024 and August 2025 on behalf of Russian intelligence. The suspect was arrested in August 2025.

According to Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW), the sabotage aimed to incite ethnic tensions between Poland and Ukraine. The alleged acts included desecrating memorials to Polish victims of the Volhynia massacre, a World War II atrocity committed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

Prosecutors stated that while the suspect acted for financial rather than ideological reasons, most of the crimes were committed for the benefit of foreign intelligence. He allegedly used cryptocurrencies registered in Russia and China to pay accomplices.

Illia K is also accused of preparing to fly a drone over Polish President Karol Nawrocki's vehicle during the Armed Forces Day parade in Warsaw on August 15, 2024. He was arrested three days before the event.

Other charges include vandalizing the Monument to the Jewish Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto and monuments to Volhynia massacre victims in Domostawa and Wrocław, by placing inscriptions glorifying the UPA. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

The Volhynia massacre, in which up to 100,000 Poles were killed by the UPA between 1943 and 1945, remains a contentious issue in Polish-Ukrainian relations. Tensions flared again in May 2025 when Ukrainian President Zelensky named a military unit after the UPA, prompting Poland to strip him of the Order of the White Eagle.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk