“In light of the evidence that Russian intelligence services were behind the reprehensible act of sabotage at the shopping centre on Marywilska Street, I have decided to revoke the operating permit of the Russian Federation’s Consulate in Krakow,” Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote on [social media].
The move follows the arrest of several suspects and an international investigation involving Lithuanian authorities, which uncovered similar sabotage efforts.
The closure of the consulate comes just a month after local media reported that authorities had quietly renewed the building’s lease, triggering protests in Kraków.
The fire, which broke out in May last year, destroyed 90% of the centre, but fortunately there were no casualties. It is now seen as part of a wider pattern of Russian-backed sabotage across central and eastern Europe.
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In related news, Poland says Russia recruited arsonists for Warsaw fire on social media.
“We have evidence that they commissioned people living in Poland, they commissioned them on Telegram and paid them to set fire to this huge shopping mall,” Sikorski said on Monday …
The May 2024 fire destroyed 1,400 small businesses, with many of the staff there belonging to Warsaw’s Vietnamese community …
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No. Putin very much formed the 21st century Russian state and broke with Jeltsin’s doctrine. Putin is not a symptom he is the disease. And yes, now there’ll be a guy to replace him but that guy is also his doing.