A few days ago, strangers partially paralyzed rail traffic in Poland – and played the Russian anthem over the radio. Authorities are nervous about the suspicion that the country could have been the focus of Russian secret services.
The quality is miserable, but the radio signal is understandable. “For victory” shouted Russian President Vladimir Putin, “Hurrah” shouted the soldiers. Then comes the Russian anthem. Train drivers near Szczecin heard the signal over the radio at the end of August – after another radio command, the so-called radio stop: a remote-controlled emergency stop. More than 20 trains then stopped.
Freight traffic in the region was temporarily stopped completely. The domestic secret service ABW is investigating, explained Stanislaw Zaryn, the Prime Minister’s State Secretary. “Right now, we’re not ruling out any scenario,” Zaryn said. One “must also emphasize” that the life and health of the passengers were not threatened, he said. And: “The incident must be cleared up, also because of the current threat to the Polish state.”
transit country for arms transports
The threat to the Polish railways came from a simple shortwave transmitter. Technically not a work of art, experts had noticed soon after the incident. But the Russian anthem over the radio makes many think of an act of sabotage. Shortly thereafter, in Bialystok, at the other end of the country, two men are arrested who are said to have sent the emergency stop signal. One of the suspects: a Polish policeman.
Poland seems to have become the focus of Russian services because of its aid to Ukraine and also as a transit country for arms shipments. The Polish authorities had already dug up a spy group in March. And new members keep getting arrested. At the end of August there were 16 people.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses them of “spying for Russia and being involved in a criminal organization,” said Mariusz Kaminski, Poland’s interior minister, after the first arrests. Domestic intelligence officials “secured cameras, electronic equipment and GPS transmitters that were to be attached to aid shipments destined for Ukraine.”
If one is arrested, a new one is recruited
The suspects were foreigners – Kaminski didn’t want to be more specific at the time. Polish media are now reporting that part of the group are Ukrainian refugees. No trained secret agents, but informers recruited for money. If one is arrested, a new one will be recruited, they say. Poland is constantly under hybrid attack, says Zbigniew Hoffmann, State Secretary for National Defence.
“Of course, that comes from the Kremlin, but it’s also being implemented by Belarus,” said Hoffmann. This applies to many different areas. “It’s not just the direct danger from the Wagner troops,” it’s “not just the refugees at the border, but also cyber attacks.” Anyone who deals with it knows “that they have not only been using this strategy since today or yesterday.”
Hoffmann speaks of the expertise of post-Soviet secret services. The strategy aims at destabilization and chaos. And she catches. When legionella bacteria appeared in the drinking water in Rzeszow, a hub for transit to the Ukraine, and as a result – as of now – 18 people died, the secret service immediately investigated. The problem is probably contamination in the water pipes, but it could also be an attack. The insecurity in Poland is great.