Russia accused Poland on Thursday of attempting to sever bilateral ties by expelling 45 of its diplomats, and warned that it would retaliate violently.
According to the Russian ambassador, Poland, which announced on Wednesday that it was expelling the diplomats on suspicion of working for Russian intelligence, had also closed the embassy’s financial accounts.
The Russian foreign ministry described the expulsions as ‘a deliberate move towards the final disintegration of bilateral relations, which our Polish ‘partners’ have been relentlessly undermining for a long time.’
‘Russia will not leave this unfriendly attack unanswered,’ it said, ‘which will make Polish provocateurs ponder and will hurt them.’
Relations between Russia and Central European countries that were once within its sphere of influence have long been strained, but the Ukraine war has elevated fear and distrust of Moscow’s intentions dramatically.
Russia criticised a risky proposal by NATO member Poland to send armed international peacekeepers into Ukraine, on Wednesday
Sergey Andreev, the Russian ambassador in Warsaw, said the embassy’s bank accounts had been frozen because they may be used for money laundering or terrorist financing.
‘I can only state in general terms that we have been dealing with the freezing of funds of the Russian Federation,’ Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.
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