Polish-Russian relations keep deteriorating, as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has accused Russia of being responsible for sabotage of an important railway connection and his Foreign Ministry closed the last remaining Russian consulate, which was in Gdansk. Moscow, which still keeps the Embassy in Warsaw, reacted to the last move by scaling down the size of Polish diplomatic and consular services in Russia.
“Relations with Poland have completely deteriorated,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated. The allegations against Russia for the railway sabotage “is perhaps a manifestation of this deterioration and the ambitions of the Polish authorities to reduce any opportunity [to maintain] consular or diplomatic relations to zero. We can only express our regret here.”
On Nov. 16, sabotage occurred on the Warsaw-Lublin line, in the village of Mika. An explosive device detonated, destroying the railway tracks. Two Ukrainians are being investigated, whom Tusk claims have been working with Russian intelligence. Both were said to have come from Belarus in the fall and left Poland after the incident at the Terespol to Belarus border crossing. C4 military explosive was found at the scene. Tusk claims that Russia intends to promote “disorganization, chaos, panic, speculation, uncertainty.”
