Russia ramps up surveillance in Poland ahead of NATO summit: Cezary Gmyz

Speaking to Polish Radio, Gmyz said surveillance by the Kremlin had increased in recent months and “has reached new heights” eclipsing data gathering in other members of the Alliance.

The increased interest in Poland is not only related to the upcoming summit, but “linked with Poland’s membership in the Alliance” Gmyz said, adding that the Kremlin has increased its staff at its counterintelligence centre in the Russian embassy in Warsaw.

“One can see that Russians are taking an active interest in what will happen during the summit,” he said.

“Since joining NATO, we [Poland] have become an adversary in the eyes of Russia, and this is the reason why the country is carrying out surveillance on this scale,” Gmyz said.

“GRU [Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate] also operates a wide-ranging network in Poland,” the journalist added.

Gmyz also said that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) – which was set up following the collapse of the Soviet Union and tasked with counterintelligence operations within the country – has also been busy gathering information in countries which once were part of the USSR.

“It has been proven that FSB agents spied in Estonia,” Gmyz said, adding: “Poland’s Military Counterintelligence Service has also been receiving an increasing amount of information that [the FSB] is not only dealing with Russia internal affairs, but also spying abroad”.