Poland Tightens Security at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport Over Concerns of Russian Sabotage

Polish authorities are stepping up the security measures at Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, the main transit hub for Ukraine’s military aid.

The Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak said authorities are taking measures to increase security around Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, which handles up to 90% of Western cargo bound for the front in Ukraine.

“We are facing a foreign state that is conducting hostile and — in military parlance — kinetic action on Polish territory,” Siemoniak said. “There has never been anything like this before.”

Semoniak also indicated that the recent acts of sabotage were ordered by the Russian military intelligence GRU, adding that similar methods are used throughout Europe.

The minister called it a “very serious situation,” since Russian services were now operating with greater deliberation on foreign soil

“We’re no longer talking about agents of influence or some online activities,” Siemoniak said. “These are individuals who are ready to come and set things on fire.”

In April, prosecutors reported the arrest of a male suspect accused of aiding a scheme to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Allegedly, the individual was prepared to gather information on airport security as a component of the plan.

Two days ago, on May 21, Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed that Poland has arrested nine people in connection with acts of sabotage linked to Russia’s intelligence services.