Poland라이브 바카라 foreign minister on Monday said that the country will shut the Russian consulate in Krakow - one of the oldest cities in the country - after evidence emerged that Moscow was behind the May 2024 fire that almost destroyed a Warsaw shopping centre.
“We now know for sure that the great fire of the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw was caused by arson ordered by the Russian special services,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a post on X. He added that some of the perpetrators have already been detained, all the others are identified and searched for. “We will get you all!”
"Due to evidence that the Russian special services committed a reprehensible act of sabotage against the shopping center on Marywilska Street, I have decided to withdraw my consent to the operation of the Consulate of the Russian Federation in Krakow," Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X.
What has Russia said?
As per Reuters, the Russian foreign ministry said Poland intentionally was cutting its ties with Moscow, state news agency RIA reported.
"Warsaw continues to deliberately destroy relations, acting against the interests of its citizens," state news agency RIA quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
She also said that Russia would soon deliver an "adequate response".
What happened in May 2024?
In May 2024, a fire destroyed 1,400 small shops at shopping centre Marywilska 44. The warehouse-like structure was predominantly owned by the Vietnamese population, and took a heavy toll on the people.
Now that the investigation is concluded, a joint statement by Poland's justice and interior ministers has declared that the actions of those in custody were "organised and directed by a specific person residing in the Russian Federation," BBC reported.
Relations between Russia and Poland have degraded ever since Russia launched an invasion in Ukraine, with NATO also alleging that Russia is waging a hybrid war with the agenda to deter any nation from assisting Ukraine.
