“We are seizing the so-called Szpiegowo (Spy Town) and we’ll be seeking to hand it over to our Ukrainian guests,” Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski told the media.
‘A symbolic gesture’
Addressing a news conference outside the property on Warsaw’s Sobieskiego Street, Trzaskowski said: “I’m pleased that we are able to demonstrate in such a symbolic way that Warsaw is helping our Ukrainian friends.”
Monday’s move came after the mayor announced on March 23 that the city would take over the Russian-held complex in reply to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the state PAP news agency reported.
A bailiff for City Hall entered the property at 9 a.m., according to officials.
Trzaskowski told reporters that Warsaw representatives would inspect the complex later in the day, to assess “whether it needs to be refurbished or even partially demolished.”
He added that many companies had already volunteered to help with the redecoration.
‘It will serve Ukrainians and Ukraine’
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Andrii Deshchytsia, said he hoped he would soon be able to plant a Ukrainian flag on the property.
“Not by force, like the Russians do, but legally, in coordination with the Polish government and Mayor Trzaskowski,” Deshchytsia told reporters.
He added that the complex could house “a kindergarten, a school, a Ukrainian centre, maybe also an office of the Union of Ukrainians in Poland,” as well as "some 50 to 70 flats."
“In any case, it will serve Ukrainians and Ukraine,” Deshchytsia said.
Dating back to the communist era, the housing complex at Warsaw’s 100 Sobieskiego Street, which comprises over 100 flats, was once used by Soviet diplomats.
Nicknamed “Spy Town” by Varsovians, it was later abandoned and fell into disrepair, according to officials.
Over the years, Poland’s foreign ministry and Warsaw City Hall had sought to settle the property’s legal status, the PAP news agency reported.
Monday is day 47 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Monday reported it had welcomed nearly 2.66 million refugees fleeing Russia's assault on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, um.warszawa.pl