Poland Closes Russian Consulate in Krakow Over Spy Sabotage

The Polish authorities have decided to close the Russian Consulate General in Krakow because of the involvement of Russian special services in the arson attack on the Marivilska 44 shopping centre in Warsaw one year ago.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to a post on Network X by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

‘Due to the evidence that the Russian special services committed a shameful act of sabotage against the shopping centre on Marivilska Street, I have decided to withdraw my consent to the activities of the Russian Federation's consulate in Krakow,’ Sikorski wrote.

The Russian ambassador was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry on Monday to officially inform him of Warsaw's intention to close the Russian Consulate General in Krakow. Three Russian diplomats will stop working in this city.

In May 2024, a large-scale fire broke out on the territory of the Mariwilska 44 shopping centre in Warsaw. The fire engulfed almost the entire territory of the facility. The fire destroyed the entire shopping centre, with no casualties.

A few days later, Polish security services detained three people for attempting to sabotage and subvert the shopping centre in favour of Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the large-scale fire was the result of an arson attack organised by Russian special services.

Earlier, Poland had already banned the Russian Consulate General in Poznan for its involvement in the preparation of sabotage both in Poland and in European countries. In response, Russia closed the Polish Consulate General in St. Petersburg in early 2025.

As The Gaze reported earlier, Poland has handed over to Ukraine its citizen suspected of working for Russia. According to the Ukrainian media, it is a “political expert” and propagandist Kirill Molchanov.