“In view of evidence that Russian special services carried out a reprehensible act of sabotage against the Marywilska shopping center, I have withdrawn consent for the Russian Federation’s consulate in Kraków,” Sikorski wrote on social‑media platform X.
Arson for hire
The Marywilska 44 complex, home to some 1,400 shops and stalls, burned to the ground on 12 May 2024.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday the fire was set “on orders from Russian services” and coordinated by a Russia‑based handler.
Several suspects are in custody and others have been identified, he added.
Justice Minister Adam Bodnar and Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said investigators possessed detailed evidence of the contract arson, including how the perpetrators documented the blaze for their paymasters. Police, prosecutors and the Internal Security Agency are pursuing the remaining suspects.
Consular downsizing
Russia now retains only its embassy in Warsaw and a consulate in Gdańsk, after Poland shut the Poznań mission in October 2024 over what Warsaw called hostile hybrid actions.
The foreign ministry said staff at the Kraków post must leave “within days.”
The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lengthy forensic probe
Prosecutors launched an inquiry into “causing a fire endangering property of great value” a day after the blaze.
From July to late November 2024, 55 prosecutors and 100 police officers combed the ruins alongside fire‑science experts, gathering evidence that pointed to deliberate ignition.
Polish officials have drawn parallels with a string of unexplained fires in early 2024, including one at an IKEA store in Vilnius.
Lithuanian prosecutors later alleged that blaze was set by a Ukrainian national recruited by Russia’s GRU military intelligence.
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio 24