INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Polands Foreign Ministry announced Monday that it will order the closure of Russias consulate in the city of Krakow after Polish authorities
accused Russian security services of arranging a shopping mall fire last year.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Sunday accused Russian
intelligence services of orchestrating the May 12 fire that burned down the Marywilska shopping center in Warsaw.In light of evidence that
Russian intelligence services were behind the wicked act of sabotage at the shopping center on Marywilska Street, I have actually decided to
withdraw authorization for the Russian Federations consulate in Krakow to operate, Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorskiwrote on X.The statement
came a month after Polish mediareported that authorities had actually decided to extend the Russian consulates rent arrangement despite
demonstrations by city residents.Russias Foreign Ministry condemned Polands decision to shutter its Krakow consulate and threatened
countermeasures.Warsaw continues to intentionally damage relations, acting against the interests of citizens
A sufficient reaction to these insufficient steps will follow quickly, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.Relations between
Russia and Poland, a NATO member, have dramatically degraded given that Moscow launched its major invasion of Ukraine.Both sides have
actually since expelled dozens of diplomats and bought the closures of consulates in Poznan and St
Petersburg in tit-for-tat moves.Poland is a staunch ally of Kyiv and has been a key transit point for Western arms heading to the embattled
country since February 2022
In 2015, Poland enforced constraints on the motions of Russian diplomats over accusations that Moscow is waging a hybrid war.
