Poland detains Russian man who illegally crossed from Belarus, security officials say

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• A 41-year-old man from Russia was detained by Polish security officials after illegally crossing from Belarus.
• The detained man has been described as a "deserter" from the Russian army, according to the Border Guard.
• The authorities are focused on determining the man's intentions and whether he was working for Russian intelligence services.

Poland’s security officials said Wednesday that a 41-year-old man from Russia had been detained and was being questioned after illegally crossing in from Russia’s ally Belarus.

The Border Guard confirmed that a 41-year-old "deserter" from Russia has been detained.

Deputy Interior Minister Czeslaw Mroczek said that officials were trying to establish whether the man was a deserter from Russian army "trying to flee the horrors of the war" or whether he was assigned to carry out secret tasks in the European Union for Russia.

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"We must determine what his intentions were," Mroczek said. "The question is whether we are dealing here with someone who was carrying out tasks for Russian (secret) services."

A Belarusian soldier walks through a newly-built camp on July 7, 2023. Poland’s security officials said on Wednesday that a 41-year-old man from Russia had been detained and was being questioned after illegally crossing in from Russia’s ally Belarus. (Adam Berry/Getty Images)

Polish media reported the man was not armed and was in civilian clothes, but was carrying a written contract with the Russian army that included participation in actions being part of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

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The detention came as Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk was meeting with top security officials over alleged Russian influences in Poland and its leadership. The development also came shortly after a controversial Polish judge, who had access to sensitive information, defected to Belarus this week, which Tusk described as "high treason."