WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Monday that he was ordering the closure of Russia’s consulate in the southern city of Krakow after Polish authorities said Russia was responsible for a fire that destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw last year.
The fire broke out May 12, 2024, in the Marywilska 44 shopping center that housed some 1,400 shops and service points, a budget marketplace in a warehouse-like structure in a northern district of Warsaw. Many of the vendors were from Vietnam, and it inflicted tragedy on many in Warsaw’s Vietnamese community.
Sikorski announced the closure in a statement published in Warsaw on Monday morning, exactly one year after the fire.
He also addressed the matter during a visit to Britain, telling reporters the decision was taken because the Justice Ministry and Security forces found evidence that Russia had committed arson.
“This was a huge fire of a shopping mall in Warsaw in which, just by sheer luck, nobody was hurt. This is completely unacceptable. So the Russian consulate will have to leave. ... And if these attacks continue, we’ll take further action," he said.
Sikorski last year already ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Poznan, one of three at the time in Poland, in response to acts of sabotage including arson attacks that he said were sponsored by Moscow.
This leaves only one Russian consulate left, in Gdansk.
There are rising concerns in Europe over Russian attempts to destabilize the region through covert operations. Russia has denied that it is doing that.
Countries along NATO's eastern flank, like Poland and the Baltic states, feel especially vulnerable. Lithuania in March accused Russia of carrying out an arson attack last year at an IKEA in Vilnius, the capital. Authorities in these countries have been cooperating as they see that some of the alleged perpetrators work across borders.
Lithuania's prosecutor general’s office said the suspect in the Vilnius IKEA fire carried out planning during a secret meeting in Warsaw to set fire to and blow up shopping centers in Lithuania and Latvia for a monetary reward.
Sikorski’s announcement followed Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying late Sunday that Polish officials “now know for certain that the massive fire on Marywilska was the result of arson commissioned by Russian services.”
“The actions were coordinated by a person residing in Russia. Some of the perpetrators are already in custody, while the rest have been identified and are being sought,” Tusk said on X. “We will catch them all!”
Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press
