Poland Thwarts Russian Plot to Assassinate US Citizen

Polish security services thwarted a Russian intelligence plot to assassinate a United States citizen of Ukrainian origin on Polish soil. Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister of Poland, announced on Thursday that the Internal Security Agency and police detained a Russian national who had been recruited by Moscow to carry out the killing.

Tusk credited U.S. intelligence services with helping to avert the attack and attributed the order directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He characterized the event as the first instance of someone acting on Russian orders to carry out an assassination attempt against a U.S. citizen within the territory of another NATO country.

The incident occurs as European officials warn of increased Russian sabotage and hybrid operations, including espionage and cyberattacks, as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year. Tusk stated that the Polish government must assume the Russian regime will seek to eliminate people it considers inconvenient in different parts of the world.