Warsaw, 29 July 2025 (dpa/MIA) - A jailed Colombian man started two fires in Poland on behalf of Russia last year, Polish authorities alleged on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old is responsible for the arson attacks on two building material warehouses in Warsaw and Radom in mid-2024, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Warsaw.

In both cases, the fires were quickly extinguished and no one was injured.

Poland is a close political and military ally of Ukraine, which has been battling a full-scale Russian invasion for over three years. The government in Warsaw has long accused Russian intelligence services of being behind a series of fires.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that 32 people are currently in detention on suspicion of carrying out acts of sabotage for Russia's intelligence services. They include several Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian citizens, he said, as well as one Polish and one Columbian national.

According to the Interior Ministry, the Colombian had previously been trained by a person with links to Russian secret services. The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the man for working for a foreign secret service and terrorism.

At the beginning of June, a court in the Czech Republic sentenced the man to eight years in prison for setting fire to Prague public transport buses and a shopping centre. At the time, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also blamed Russian secret services for being behind the attacks.

Photo: EPA