Poland indicts Ukrainian teen for sabotage, blames Russian intelligence

Poland's Internal Security Agency has charged an 18‑year‑old Ukrainian, identified as Illia K., with vandalising World War II memorials—including the Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Volhynia Massacre Memorial—and planning a drone sabotage attack. The agency alleges the teenager acted on behalf of Russian intelligence, receiving cryptocurrency payments through exchanges registered in Russia and China, to inflame tensions between Poland and Ukraine.

If convicted, the suspect faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The case comes amid heightened diplomatic friction after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured a unit as “Heroes of the UPA,” prompting outrage in Poland and the revocation of Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle by the Polish president. Polish officials say the sabotage is part of a broader Russian effort to destabilise Polish‑Ukrainian relations.