Poland’s ambassador to Russia, Krzysztof Krajewski, has confirmed that he was targeted by a group of Russian activists in St Petersburg, in what Warsaw describes as the most serious incident involving the envoy in recent years. The ambassador was not injured and his security detail prevented the situation from escalating.
According to accounts in Gazeta Wyborcza and other Polish outlets, the incident occurred on Sunday 16 November in the centre of St Petersburg. Krajewski had travelled from Moscow to meet the local Polish community for events linked to Poland’s Independence Day, including a Polish-language Mass.
Polish media report that around midday the ambassador, accompanied by consul Jarosław Strycharski and officers of Poland’s State Protection Service (SOP), was walking along Nevsky Prospekt towards the Basilica of St Catherine of Alexandria when he was surrounded by a group of several dozen people. The group carried placards and banners and shouted slogans critical of Poland and Ukraine.
In comments to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Krajewski said that the confrontation began with verbal abuse. The crowd chanted anti-Polish and anti-Ukrainian slogans and accused Warsaw of fuelling the war by supporting Kyiv. He stated that several individuals then tried to move from shouting to “a physical attack”, but were blocked by his protection team.
The ambassador described the episode as “another hostile act” directed at him and staff of the mission, and said the group appeared organised rather than spontaneous. He noted that pre-prepared banners and the presence of people filming the scene suggested prior planning. He stressed, however, that he was not hurt and continued his programme in the city.
Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the incident and raised it formally with the Russian side. Spokesman Maciej Wewiór told TVN24 and several news outlets that the event “started with a verbal assault, but later there was a clear attempt to use physical force”, at which point SOP officers intervened. He said this was the most serious such incident involving Krajewski since he took up his post in 2021.
Wewiór said that during a meeting in Warsaw with the Russian chargé d’affaires, the Polish side expressed strong objection and reminded Russia of its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to protect foreign envoys and allow them to perform their functions. According to Polish reports, the Russian side replied that such situations “should not occur”, but did not publicly acknowledge any failure on the part of the authorities in St Petersburg.
The ambassador’s visit to St Petersburg had been officially announced by the embassy. On 12–16 November he took part in events with the local Polish community, including religious services, cultural meetings and wreath-laying ceremonies at memorials linked to Polish history, among them plaques commemorating priest Konstanty Budkiewicz and King Stanisław August Poniatowski.
Footage of the confrontation, circulating on Russian social media and reported by Polish outlets, shows demonstrators pressing close to the ambassador with banners and accusing Poland of arming Ukraine. Russian regional media presented the action as a protest by “activists” against Polish policy. Polish commentators noted that the clips broadcast in Russia did not show the moment when members of the group allegedly attempted to lunge at the ambassador before being pushed back by SOP officers.
The incident fits into a wider pattern of pressure and harassment directed at Polish diplomats in Russia. In 2024 Krajewski was publicly confronted in a restaurant in Yekaterinburg by a Polish national known for pro-Russian statements, an episode that also required intervention by security officers. Polish media have reported an increase in surveillance and hostile actions against Western diplomats more broadly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It also comes against a backdrop of rapidly deteriorating bilateral relations and reciprocal reductions in consular networks. On 8 January 2025 Poland’s Consulate General in St Petersburg was closed after Russia withdrew consent for its operation, in response to Warsaw’s earlier decision to close the Russian consulate in Poznań over suspected sabotage. The Polish foreign ministry has described these steps as part of a broader pattern of “retorsion” between the two states.
In recent days Poland has gone further by withdrawing consent for the last remaining Russian consulate in the country, in Gdańsk, citing security concerns and alleged Russian involvement in acts of sabotage on Polish territory. The move follows earlier closures of Russian consulates in Kraków and Poznań, and has been condemned by the Kremlin as evidence of a “complete degradation” of relations. Russia, in turn, has announced measures affecting Polish consular presence, including in Kaliningrad.
For the Polish government, the St Petersburg incident reinforces concerns about the security environment in which its diplomats operate in Russia. Wewiór indicated that the ministry is reviewing security arrangements but declined to give details, citing the sensitivity of protective measures. He added that each mission is assessed individually and that, in the case of Russia, the risk level is regarded as elevated.
Warsaw has called on the Russian authorities to investigate the attempted assault on Ambassador Krajewski and to ensure that similar episodes do not recur. For now, the ambassador remains in post in Moscow, and the embassy continues to provide limited consular services and maintain contact with the Polish community in Russia under increasingly constrained conditions.
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