Poland arrests Russian ice-hockey player on spying charges

The hockey player was taken into custody in the southern Polish region of Silesia. Prosecutors said he had arrived in Poland in October 2021.

 Hockey stick and puck on ice (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Hockey stick and puck on ice
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Poland has detained a Russian ice-hockey player playing for a first-division Polish team on spying charges, prosecutors said on Friday, describing him as the 14th person that had been arrested from one espionage network.

A key hub for western military supplies to Ukraine, Poland says it has become a major target for Russian spies and it accuses Moscow of trying to destabilize the country.

"Russian spies are falling in one by one!," Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on Twitter. "A spy who acted under the guise of an athlete was caught. The Russian was a player of a first division club."

The hockey player was taken into custody in the southern Polish region of Silesia, prosecutors said in a statement. The player and his team were not publicly identified. Prosecutors said he had arrived in Poland in October 2021.

 Handcuffed hands rest on prison bars. (Illustrative) (credit: MATTHEW HENRY)
Handcuffed hands rest on prison bars. (Illustrative) (credit: MATTHEW HENRY)

What did he do?

According to prosecutors he carried out activities including identifying critical infrastructure, for which he received payment. He will be kept in pre-trial detention and could face up to 10 years in prison.

The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

In March Poland said it had broken up a Russian espionage network operating in the country and detained nine people it said were preparing acts of sabotage and monitoring rail routes to Ukraine.

Russia demands explanation

In April it said it was introducing a temporary 200-meter exclusion zone around its Swinoujscie Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, citing concerns about Russian espionage.

Russia has demanded an explanation from Poland over its arrest of Russian citizens, state news agency RIA reported on Friday, citing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.


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The player and his team have not been publicly identified.