Poland detains Belarusian suspected of spying for Russia

(ANSA-AFP) - WARSAW, AUG 4 - Poland on Friday said it had detained a Belarusian man on suspicion of being part of a "Russian spy ring" which it claimed planned to derail trains carrying aid to Ukraine. Poland, a key ally of Ukraine, had previously reported arrests in the investigation, including that of a Russian ice hockey player in June who was also held on espionage charges. "Belarusian Mikhail A. took part in reconnaissance of military facilities and ports. He also carried out propaganda activities for Russia," Kaminski said on Twitter, recently rebranded as X, adding the man was the sixteenth person held in connection with the alleged spy network. The Polish government said Friday that the Belarusian came to Poland in 2021 and "maintained contacts with citizens of the Russian Federation, with whom he was meeting in Saint Petersburg and Crimea." "The man often changed the means of communication and was destroying traces of his criminal activities," the statement said, adding that the 39-year-old pleaded "partly guilty".
    (ANSA-AFP).