Belarus's Foreign Ministry has warned Poland about a potential terrorist threat on Polish soil, claiming an individual was planning an attack against the children of a Belarusian activist residing in the country. Polish security services are now examining the information, with officials in Warsaw stating they take any such warning seriously.
The alert was delivered during a meeting on Thursday between Belarusian officials and Poland's chargé d'affaires in Minsk, Krzysztof Ożanna. According to a statement from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, the case involves a person living in Poland who, it says, has a prior criminal conviction and recently lost both additional protection and the right to remain in Poland.
Belarusian authorities allege that the individual was planning an attack targeting the activist's children, with the motive described as revenge. They claim the activist failed to do enough to help the suspect maintain a particular legal status in Poland. The ministry said it was prepared to provide Warsaw with further information if needed.
Polish response and investigation
Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the minister coordinating Poland's special services, declined to comment on the specific media reports but assured that Polish services never downplay any worrying signal. “I can assure you, however, that Polish services never downplay any worrying signal and that they approach all information about potential threats with due seriousness and determination,” he told the Polish Press Agency.
Dobrzyński noted that the special services do not usually publicly disclose their activities while investigations are in the early stages. “It is also perfectly normal that intelligence services anywhere in the world do not disclose, at this stage, whether they have taken any action or what those actions might be,” he added.
Poland's Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, also commented on the matter. Asked by journalists in Warsaw on Friday about the Belarusian information, he said that every terrorism warning is taken seriously.
The development comes amid heightened tensions between Poland and Belarus, with Warsaw frequently accusing Minsk of orchestrating hybrid attacks, including pushing migrants across the border. The warning also follows a broader pattern of security concerns in the region, including Latvia's recent ban on Russian and Belarusian cultural imports and ongoing debates about NATO's eastern flank. Poland has been a key hub for Belarusian opposition activists and dissidents since the disputed 2020 presidential election in Belarus, which the EU and US have not recognized.
While the specifics of the alleged plot remain unclear, the incident underscores the complex security landscape in Central and Eastern Europe, where state actors and non-state threats often intersect. Polish authorities are expected to continue their review and may coordinate with EU and NATO partners if the threat is deemed credible.
