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2022-03-23 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
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Polish security agency requests expulsion of 45 Russian officials from embassy
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[Washington Examiner] WARSAW — Polish security officials are seeking the expulsion of nearly four dozen officials attached to the Russian Embassy in Warsaw in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The 45 Russian officials Poland wants to banish are spies masquerading as diplomats, according to a Wednesday morning statement from Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski.
"With full consistency and determination, we are breaking up the agents of the Russian secret services in our country," Kaminski wrote on Twitter in Polish.
Poland’s Internal Security Agency Chief Krzysztof Waclawek publicized the request for the expulsion of "Russian special services officers and their associates," according to the agency, which asked Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau to order the Russian officials to leave the country.
"As found by the Agency, the activities of those listed in the motion for expulsion serves the objectives of the Russian undertakings designed to undermine the stability of Poland and its allies in the international arena and poses a threat to the interests and security of our country," it said.
Among those listed in the motion for expulsion is "an officer of the Russian secret services whose activity has been unveiled during an investigation that resulted in the arrest of a Polish national on suspicion of spying on March 17, 2022," Waclawek’s team said Wednesday.
Russian Ambassador Sergey Andreyev was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday morning, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina confirmed, but Jasina would not state the purpose of the meeting before it concluded.
Waclawek’s announcement portends the second mass ouster of Russian officials from one of Moscow’s major central European hubs in a year. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis ordered 18 Russian officials accused of working as undercover spies to leave the country as Czech officials blamed Russian intelligence officials for orchestrating an explosion at a weapons depot, reportedly in an effort to target weapons bound for Ukraine, that killed two Czech civilians.
Russia responded to the expulsion of those 18 diplomats by forcing 20 Czech officials to leave Moscow, a decision that reportedly left just four Czech officials at its embassy.
Czech officials countered by saying that Russia would lose the same percentage of staff at the much larger facility in Prague, which required Russia to withdraw dozens of officials from the Czech Republic.
"The number is quite extensive," a Czech official said at the time. "So it will probably affect some intelligence officers."
The Polish move could deliver another blow to Russian intelligence capabilities in the region at a time when NATO allies are on alert for Russian spies identifying the carefully guarded shipments of military equipment to Ukraine.
Though not overtly engaged in conflict, tensions have simmered between Poland and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. Poland has been a top destination for Ukrainian refugees, with millions fleeing to the neighboring country, but high-profile Russian figures have slammed the former Soviet satellite as beholden to its U.S. "puppeteers." 
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Posted by Besoeker 2022-03-23 09:25||
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Posted by Besoeker 2022-03-23 09:30||
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