Poland has announced the closure of Russia’s last remaining consulate in the country, in the Baltic port city of Gdańsk, in response to two acts of sabotage on a key railway line between Warsaw and Lublin that Polish authorities link to Russian intelligence.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Wednesday that he had decided to withdraw Poland’s consent for the consulate’s operation following the conclusion of initial findings in the investigation into recent incidents on the Warsaw–Lublin line, a route used extensively to channel assistance to Ukraine.
“I have decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the Russian consulate in Gdańsk. This will be communicated to the Russian side by an official note in the coming hours,” Sikorski told reporters. He stressed that the measure was part of a calibrated response to what Warsaw views as continuing hostile activity on Polish territory.
Sikorski added that Poland does not intend to sever diplomatic relations with Moscow. Russia will retain its embassy in Warsaw, but no consulates, marking a further contraction of its presence after earlier expulsions and closures. The minister framed the move as a consequence of Russian actions rather than a prelude to a full diplomatic break.
The announcement follows two incidents on the Warsaw–Lublin railway, including an explosion near the village of Mika at the weekend that damaged tracks and overhead lines but caused no casualties. Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the blast as an “unprecedented act of sabotage”, noting that the damage could have had serious consequences had a train been passing at the time.
Addressing the Sejm on 18 November, Tusk said investigators believed the operation had been carried out by two Ukrainian citizens working for Russian security services. According to his account, the suspects entered Poland from Belarus and left the country shortly after the attacks. Poland will seek their detention and extradition through international channels, he said, while their identities remain undisclosed because of the ongoing investigation.
Polish security officials have stated that “everything points” to Russian intelligence commissioning the sabotage, which prosecutors are treating as an “act of sabotage of a terrorist nature” directed against critical infrastructure for the benefit of a foreign intelligence service. Authorities have linked the case to a wider pattern of suspected covert operations across Europe since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including arson, cyberattacks and other attempts to disrupt logistics and energy networks.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commenting on the Polish findings, said Russia deliberately recruits individuals with Ukrainian passports for such activities in order to create the impression that Ukrainians are responsible and to fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment in partner countries. Kyiv insists that such operatives act as agents of Russia and do not represent the Ukrainian state.
Sikorski underlined that, in Warsaw’s view, the target of Polish security measures is not EU institutions, Ukrainian citizens or Poland’s own government, but “those who send saboteurs to Poland”. He recalled that Warsaw had repeatedly warned Moscow that further hostile activity would trigger additional reductions in Russia’s diplomatic and consular footprint on Polish territory, and argued that recent incidents showed such warnings had not been heeded.
The closure of the Gdańsk consulate is the latest step in a gradual tightening of Poland’s stance. In October 2024, Sikorski ordered the Russian consulate in Poznań to be shut, declaring its staff personae non gratae in response to what he called elements of “hybrid warfare”, including suspected sabotage and pressure on Poland’s eastern border. In May 2025, he moved to close the consulate in Kraków after Polish authorities linked Russian services to a major fire at a Warsaw shopping centre the previous year.
The railway section between Warsaw and Lublin has particular strategic importance. It forms part of a corridor connecting the Polish capital to border crossings used for the delivery of humanitarian supplies and military equipment to Ukraine. Tusk has described the line as “crucially important” for supporting Ukraine’s defence effort, a characterisation echoed by NATO officials who have warned repeatedly about the vulnerability of cross-border logistics to sabotage.
Moscow has rejected the accusations. The Kremlin has described Poland’s claims of Russian involvement as an example of “Russophobia” and said Warsaw is blaming Russia for “all manifestations of hybrid and direct war”. On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia “regretted” the decision to close the Gdańsk consulate and argued that the move showed a lack of “common sense” and confirmed the near-total breakdown in bilateral relations.
