A huge fire that burned down the largest shopping mall in the Polish capital Warsaw a year ago was deliberately set by people acting on behalf of Russia, Donald Tusk said on Sunday.
European countries, especially those in the eastern bloc, have been affected by Russian espionage in recent years. Arson attacks are another common tool used as part of Russia's hybrid warfare strategy.
"We now know for sure that the huge fire at the Marywilska shopping mall in Warsaw was caused by arson ordered by Russian special services," Tusk said. "Some of the perpetrators have already been detained, all the others have been identified and [are] being sought. We will catch you all!"
Tusk had said in March that evidence from Lithuania suggested Russia was guilty of the attack, consistent with suspicions in Poland, but his statement on Sunday was clear in assigning responsibility to Russia.
The Lithuanian investigation found that a May 9, 2024, arson attack on an IKEA store in Vilnius, as well as the May 12, 2024 fire in Marywilska, were caused by Ukrainian citizens acting on behalf of Russia, Tusk wrote in March. A week earlier, Polish prosecutors had said a Belarusian refugee was responsible. No one was injured in the Warsaw fire.