Counterintelligence — 2026-10-09

Polish Court Sentences Former Soldier to 5.5 Years for Spying for Russia Including Zelensky Assassination Reconnaissance

BLUFPoland's appellate court used this case to signal that declared intent to serve Russian intelligence will draw serious punishment even absent confirmed intelligence transfer, raising the deterrent cost for would-be volunteers across NATO's eastern flank.

The Court of Appeal in Lublin on Thursday raised the sentence of Paweł K., a 51-year-old former Polish soldier, from three and a half to five and a half years for declaring willingness to work for Russian intelligence and for illegal ammunition possession; the ruling is final 123. Prosecutors had sought seven and a half years, and Judge Artur Achrymowicz called the Zamość court's original sentence "grossly lenient" 24. Investigators found he contacted Russian officers by email and messaging between December 2022 and March 2024, was tasked with gathering security information on Rzeszów-Jasionka airport that could have aided planning an attempt on Zelensky, and offered to join Wagner and GRU Unit 29155 124. RMF24 reports he denied the charges, saying he was deceiving Russians to help capture war criminals 2. His lawyer called the airport information "trivial and publicly available," according to Notes from Poland, citing Onet 1.

Analysis
The final ruling sets a harsher benchmark for Polish courts handling volunteer-to-spy offers to Russian services. The court punished declared willingness to serve Moscow rather than any completed transfer of secrets, treating deterrence as controlling. Defendants claiming they were deceiving Russian handlers should expect little weight from judges, especially when ammunition was also found. Polish and secondary outlets agree on the outcome, but they appear to share court and prosecution sourcing, so the agreement is not independent verification. Nothing shows Russian services acted on the Rzeszów-Jasionka material, so the assassination link remains an investigators' and Ukrainian framing, not an established plot. The sentence may also reflect wartime political pressure over Russian espionage more than this case's weight, since the airport information was reportedly public.

4 sources

Polish man suspected of helping Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky sentenced to 5.5 years - Notes from Poland
Sąd zmienił wyrok dla byłego żołnierza. Chciał szpiegować na rzecz Rosji - RMF24
Prawomocny wyrok za gotowość do szpiegostwa. Sąd podwyższył wymiar kary - Polskie Radio Lublin
Lublin: 5,5 roku więzienia dla byłego żołnierza. Zbierał informacje o lotnisku w Jasionce, które mogły pomóc w zamachu na Zełenskiego - Wirtualna Polska