Poland imposes movement restrictions on Russian diplomats amidst hybrid war concerns
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has announced that staff at Russian diplomatic missions will be restricted from freely moving around Poland. The announcement was made in Brussels during a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Tygodnik Solidarność reports.
According to Sikorski, Russian embassy staff in Warsaw will need permission to leave the Mazowieckie province, where the Polish capital is located. Similarly, staff at Russian consulates in other cities will be restricted to their respective provinces. These restrictions, however, will not apply to the Russian ambassador to Poland.
Sikorski stated that these measures were taken "in connection with Russia's participation in a hybrid war against the European Union and Poland". They are specifically linked to "suspicions of Russian involvement in several acts of sabotage and subversion" that have occurred in the country recently. An official note outlining these restrictions will be sent to the Russian embassy in Warsaw shortly. There has been no response from the Russian side yet.
Poland will be the first EU country to introduce such restrictions. The Czech Republic had previously proposed similar measures at a pan-European level, but they have not been approved so far. Similar restrictions are in place in the United States, particularly against staff at the Russian mission to the United Nations.