WARSAW: Two Russian men arrested in Poland under espionage laws went on trial Wednesday for allegedly distributing propaganda for the Wagner mercenary group, a Polish court said.
Poland, a NATO member as well as Ukraine’s neighbor and its staunch ally, has repeatedly voiced concerns about Russia-inspired provocative actions on its soil.
The pair, identified by Polish counter-intelligence as Alexei T. and Andrei G., were detained in August 2023 for distributing leaflets for the Wagner group in Warsaw and Krakow.
The leaflets contained links to “recruitment websites” for Wagner, Russia’s most notorious mercenary group.
It was disbanded and reorganized after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash last year following an aborted mutiny in Russia.
The two suspects, who face up to 10 years in prison, appeared in a Krakow court on Wednesday, its spokeswoman told AFP.
Local media reported that the pair had distributed stickers promoting the once-powerful mercenary group.
The stickers bore the Wagner logo, a slogan in English saying “We are here. Join us,” and a QR code directing people to a Russian website about the mercenary group.
“The Russians had on them more than 3,000 propaganda leaflets promoting the Wagner group. The material was given to them in Moscow,” the Polish counter-intelligence agency said in August 2023.
The suspects were set to receive “up to 500,000 rubles” ($5,000) for their activities, it added.
Two Russians appear in Polish court over Wagner ‘propaganda’
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Two Russians appear in Polish court over Wagner ‘propaganda’
- The pair were detained in August 2023 for distributing leaflets for the Wagner group in Warsaw and Krakow
- The leaflets contained links to “recruitment websites” for Wagner, Russia’s most notorious mercenary group
Changes to US security strategy ‘largely consistent’ with Russia’s vision: Kremlin
- Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the current US administration was “fundamentally different from the previous ones”
MOSCOW: Russia has welcomed changes in the US National Security Strategy, saying the adjustments that marked a radical departure from Washington’s previous policy were “largely consistent” with Moscow’s vision.
Washington’s new National Security Strategy, published early Friday, took aim at allies in Europe, calling it over-regulated, lacking in “self-confidence” and facing “civilizational erasure” due to immigration.
The document stated that the United States would also prevent other powers from dominating but added: “This does not mean wasting blood and treasure to curtail the influence of all the world’s great and middle powers.”
Commenting on the new US strategy, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the current US administration was “fundamentally different from the previous ones.”
“The adjustments we’re seeing, I would say, are largely consistent with our vision,” Peskov said in an interview with state TV station Rossiya aired Sunday.
“President Trump is currently strong in terms of domestic political positions. And this gives him the opportunity to adjust the concept to suit his vision,” Peskov added.
The publication of the updated security strategy came as officials from Kyiv held talks in Florida with Trump’s envoys on the US-drafted plan to end the near four-year war in Ukraine.
Three days of talks produced no apparent breakthrough.
President Volodymyr Zelensky committed to further negotiations toward “real peace,” as Russia in the early hours of Saturday launched another series of drone and missile strikes at Ukraine.
Zelensky is due to meet with European leaders — French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — in London on Monday to take stock of the negotiations.
