Polish Police Launch Special Operation on Kaliningrad Border Over Sabotage Warning

In brief

• Polish police have launched a special operation in the Kaliningrad border area and two northeastern provinces.
• The move follows intelligence warnings about possible sabotage, including armed groups crossing the border.
• The operation is coordinated from Police Headquarters in Warsaw with the army, Border Guard and security services.

Police deploy extra units to the border

Police have started a special operation covering areas next to the Kaliningrad region, citing intelligence that sabotage might happen there in the days ahead (Poland launches operation along Russian border in response to reports of planned sabotage – Notes from Poland) (Policja szykuje się na akty dywersji przy granicy z Rosją. Ostrzeżenie wywiadu – Rzeczpospolita). Reinforcements, among them counter-terrorism officers, have been moved into the northeastern voivodeships of Podlasie and Warmia-Masuria (Ryzyko sabotażu na granicy z Rosją. Pilny ruch policji – Wirtualna Polska).

Warning from intelligence services

National police chief Marek Boroń confirmed the operation and said it responds to information the police also received from external security services (Operacja specjalna polskich służb przy granicy. Szef policji ujawnia kulisy – Onet). Unnamed sources quoted by RMF FM report that Poland's Military Intelligence Service and partner agencies from several allied countries warned the government last week of possible sabotage, including incursions by armed groups across the frontier (Operacja specjalna służb mundurowych przy granicy. Szef KGP ujawnia kulisy – RMF24). Boroń linked the move to a wider pattern of sabotage and hybrid-style crime that he attributed to eastern services.

Who is involved

The operation is run from the command centre at Police Headquarters in Warsaw. The provincial police headquarters in Olsztyn and Białystok are also taking part. Police are coordinating with the army, the Border Guard and the security services.

Preventive character

According to Boroń, the police are responsible for the safety of residents in the area, as well as for facilities and situations that could threaten society. The operation is preventive and responds to specific intelligence signals that incidents could happen near the Kaliningrad border in the coming days. Part of the police force was moved to the region from several provinces.