Poland says Russia hired arsonists on Telegram to torch Warsaw mall

Poland has evidence that Russian intelligence recruited local operatives via the Telegram app to set fire to Warsaw’s Marywilska 44 shopping center last year, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told the BBC.

Poland's top diplomat, Radosław Sikorski.

Screen grab: BBC

The overnight blaze on 12 May 2024 destroyed about 1,400 small businesses—many run by the capital’s Vietnamese community—but caused no casualties.

“They commissioned people living in Poland, paid them on Telegram and told them to burn this huge mall,” Sikorski said in the interview broadcast Monday.

Diplomatic fallout

Citing the findings of a year‑long Polish investigation, Sikorski said he has ordered the closure of Russia’s consulate in Kraków to curtail “spying” and warned of further expulsions if hybrid attacks continue.

Poland shut Moscow’s mission in Poznań last year, leaving only one Russian consulate plus the embassy in Warsaw.

When asked why Warsaw does not sever relations entirely, Sikorski replied: “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Moscow rejects accusation

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the charges “groundless” and “Russophobic.”

Foreign‑ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Warsaw was “deliberately destroying” bilateral ties.

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Source: BBC