Two Wagner Group Members Accused of Terrorism and Espionage in Poland

On September 9, the Kraków District Court will begin the trial of two Russians, identified as members of the Wagner Group, who are accused of participating in an international armed organization and conducting activities on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency.

Wagner is a Russian armed formation, an international criminal and terrorist organization, composed of mercenaries and convicted criminals. It participates in combat operations, including Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine since 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in Syria, Sudan, Libya, and the Central African Republic.

According to the latest information, the indictment was filed in June by the Małopolska Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime. The two Russian Federation citizens, Alexey T. and Andrey G., are charged with acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency and participating in an international armed organization aimed at committing terrorist crimes. The Kraków District Court press office informed Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the first hearing is scheduled for September 9.

According to the prosecutor's office, the accused recruited mercenary military service in Poland, prohibited by international law, known as the Wagner Group.

“To this end, they posted at least several hundred so-called recruitment stickers in Kraków and Warsaw, allowing direct contact with other individuals responsible for recruitment and organization,” the National Prosecutor's Office reported.

The defendants are also charged with working for the Russian Federation's intelligence agency (GRU) through conducting so-called hybrid warfare, including propaganda activities aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Poland.

The men were arrested by the Internal Security Agency in August 2023 in Warsaw. They face up to 10 years in prison.