Belarusian convicted for preparing arson in Poland on behalf of foreign intelligence

A Belarusian man, identified in Polish law as Vitaliy S., has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison by a Polish court for preparing an arson attack on a warehouse in Chełm on behalf of foreign intelligence. The 28-year-old was arrested in August 2025 and charged with espionage. According to Poland's Internal Security Agency, he was recruited via Telegram and tasked with filming the warehouse and sending prepared material to his handlers.

The warehouse was to be ignited in the eastern Polish city of Chełm. Vitaliy S. accepted a three and a half year sentence agreed upon by prosecutors on the first day of his trial. Poland has in recent years been targeted by sabotage operations allegedly carried out by operatives working for Russia and its ally Belarus. Many of these actions have been performed by individuals who are often immigrants or refugees from Ukraine and Belarus already residing in Poland, who are hired through Telegram and paid in cryptocurrency to carry out these acts.