Poland plans to expel 45 Russian diplomats, Moscow warns of retaliation

“The Department of Homeland Security has discovered 45 people who are members of the Russian secret service and related persons under the guise of diplomacy, carrying out intelligence activities against Poland and its allies.” , Reuters quoted Polish security service spokesman Stanislaw Zaryn as saying on March 23. The spokesman added that the list of the above individuals has been transferred to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A Polish government spokesman said the country’s foreign ministry had summoned the Russian ambassador to Warsaw. Poland will announce the decision on next steps after this meeting.

Reacting to the above information, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow would respond if Poland decided to expel its diplomats.

Previously, a number of European countries, including Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria and Slovakia, simultaneously expelled Russian diplomats in a move to punish Moscow for the operation. military that Russia conducts in Ukraine.

Poland is one of the Western countries that have strongly opposed Russia’s military campaign. This month, the Polish government offered to transfer its fleet of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine through the United States. However, this proposal was rejected by the US due to potential risks.

Last weekend, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland would propose to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine at the upcoming NATO summit.

During a visit to Kiev on March 15 with Prime Minister Morawiecki, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski also said: “It will be a force striving for peace, humanitarian aid, but also armed forces. guard”. According to Polish officials, the presence of peacekeepers with the permission of Ukraine will not be considered hostile acts.

This idea has been met with criticism in Russia. At a press conference on February 23, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “It is a very reckless and extremely dangerous decision. Any potential clash between Russian and NATO forces will lead to consequences are obvious, difficult to correct”.

“It will be a head-to-head clash between Russia and NATO, a scenario that the parties not only seek to avoid, but also insist that in theory should not take place,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned.

The US and its NATO allies have so far tried to avoid the risk of a direct clash with Russia. Therefore, despite the urgent requests of Ukraine, these countries refused to provide fighter aircraft and established a no-fly zone in Ukraine.