Poland to close Russian consulate in Krakow over 'sabotage'

WARSAW

Poland's top diplomat said Monday he ordered the closure of a Russian consulate over "sabotage," after authorities accused Russia of orchestrating a fire that destroyed a Warsaw shopping center last year.

Russia immediately vowed an "adequate response" to Poland over the closure of the consulate in the southern city of Krakow.

Since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Kiev's ally Poland has claimed to be the target of sabotage attempts blamed on Russia.

Bordering Ukraine, Poland, a NATO and European Union member, is one of the main countries through which Western nations supply weapons and ammunition to Kiev.

"Due to evidence that it was the Russian secret services that carried out the reprehensible act of sabotage against the Marywilska shopping center, I have decided to withdraw my authorization for the activity of the Russian consulate in Krakow," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Monday.

"I have a message for Russian authorities: we know what you are doing, we don't accept it and we are taking the appropriate measures," he added later.

Sikorski said that last year Poland had already closed Russia's consulate in the western city of Poznan "after the previous act of sabotage."

Russia still has a consulate in the port city of Gdansk and an embassy in Warsaw.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "Warsaw continues to deliberately undermine relations, acting against the interests of its citizens."