Poland thwarts Russian plot to kill Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw

Polish authorities, cooperating with U.S. intelligence, arrested a Russian national on August 7, 2026, thwarting a Russian-ordered plot to assassinate a Ukrainian-American citizen in Warsaw. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the incident unprecedented, marking the first time Russia has targeted a U.S. citizen on NATO soil. While Moscow denies involvement, Western officials warn this fits a broader campaign of Russian sabotage and targeted killings across Europe.

Warsaw assassination plot

• ▪Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the targeted Ukrainian-American citizen was considered uncomfortable for the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• ▪Polish police and the Internal Security Agency arrested a Russian national on August 7, 2026, who was allegedly recruited by Russian secret services to carry out the assassination.
• ▪Polish authorities thwarted a Russian-ordered plot to assassinate a Ukrainian-American dual citizen in Warsaw.
• ▪The Russian suspect arrested in Warsaw on August 7, 2026, will be held in custody for three months, according to a statement by the Warsaw police.

Russian targeted killings in Europe

• ▪The Kremlin and the Russian government have consistently denied involvement in targeted killings and sabotage campaigns across European countries.
• ▪Western intelligence officials estimate that Russia has linked to or orchestrated approximately 200 acts of sabotage, arson, and disruption across Europe since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
• ▪In June 2026, Russian caricaturist and Putin critic Robert Kuzovkov, known as Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot and killed at close range in eastern Poland in what Prime Minister Donald Tusk characterized as a political murder.
• ▪European authorities have previously disrupted Russian-linked assassination plots targeting Russian exile Vladimir Osechkin in France, a weapons company executive and a military official in Germany, and a Ukrainian supporter in Lithuania.

Polish-US intelligence cooperation

• ▪The United States State Department acknowledged reports of the thwarted Warsaw plot but stated it had no additional information to provide.
• ▪The operation to thwart the Warsaw assassination plot was conducted by Polish security services in direct cooperation with United States intelligence services.

NATO security implications

• ▪Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the Warsaw plot represents the first time an operative acting on Russian orders sought to attack a United States citizen on the territory of another NATO country.
• ▪Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Poland and other allies must prepare for continued pressure as the Putin regime attempts to eliminate politically inconvenient individuals globally.