A Polish national was detained in Belarus on espionage charges near Lepel, Vitebsk Oblast, following the discovery of what authorities claim are classified documents related to the 2025 Zapad military exercises.
Polish Official Reacts to Detention
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki called the detention an “anti-Polish provocation” from the Lukashenko regime, suggesting it was related to upcoming Zapad exercises. He noted the Polish government would respond “appropriately” but stressed that the detained 27-year-old Krakow resident “has nothing to do with our intelligence operations.”
Belarusian Claims and Polish Reactions
A Polish diplomat denied the 27-year-old was a spy, calling the arrest “a new provocation by Lukashenko’s regime against our country.” The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated they had completed government consultations and assured the situation would not go without response, according to Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
Speculation and Polish Consulate Information
The detained man was reported to be a monk, a detail later denied by the Polish consul general in Minsk, who stated the affair was more layered. Meanwhile, a Polish-language news source questions the detained individual’s age and calls into question the nature of the documents supposedly related to Zapad.
