Russia sentences man to 23 years for spying for Poland: reports

A Russian man has been convicted by a Moscow court of spying for Poland and sentenced to 23 years in a penal colony, Russian authorities said, according to reports on Friday.

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Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) identified the man as Georgy Pirogov and accused him of providing Poland with information about advanced Russian weapons and missile systems used in the war in Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reported.

The FSB said Pirogov left Russia after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began and contacted Polish intelligence in April 2022, according to Reuters.

He was later tasked with collecting and passing on classified information, the FSB said.

Through contacts in Russia's defence industry, he also sought to obtain personal data on people with access to state secrets with the aim of recruiting them, according to Reuters.

The case comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and Poland, a NATO member and strong supporter of Ukraine.

Polish authorities said on Thursday that they had arrested a Russian man who was recruited by Russian intelligence to kill a US citizen of Ukrainian origin in Warsaw.

In June, Polish authorities said they had detained a man suspected of involvement in the killing of a dissident Russian artist and outspoken critic of Putin in the eastern Polish city of Biała Podlaska.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the time that the suspect was carrying a Georgian passport and that authorities were working to establish "who ordered the killing."

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Source: Reuters, TVP Info/IAR/PAP