A Russian man working for a state firm was arrested for allegedly planning to pass sensitive information to Poland in exchange for help in fleeing the country, the security services said Friday.
Russian security services have detained a slew of foreigners and its own nationals for working with foreign intelligence since it launched the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022.
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The FSB security services said the man had developed contacts with Polish security services “with the aim of transferring information about the activities of the enterprise” where he worked.
It claimed the suspect aimed to pass the information to Poland so the facility could be targeted in air attacks orchestrated by Ukraine.
Polish deputy foreign minister Andrzej Szejna dismissed the FSB statement.
“Any information provided by the Russian side in a situation where we are making every possible effort to support Ukraine... should be considered ‘fake news’,” Szejna told Polish news website Onet.
The man was detained in the western Penza region and, according to the FSB, hoped to secure “assistance in his departure for permanent residence in a foreign country.”
The FSB said he had confessed and released a video to Russian news agencies showing NATO patches, a copy of the Polish constitution and Ukrainian language books allegedly found in his flat.
It said a criminal case was opened over treason, charges that could carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
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