A court in Poland has sentenced two Russians to prison for espionage charges.

According to the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, the prosecutor demanded an eight-year prison sentence for the accused and plans to file an appeal. Lawyer Dariusz Tokarczyk is also considering the possibility of appealing the verdict.

The Russians were detained in August 2023. The investigation claims that they plastered hundreds of stickers in Warsaw and Krakow promoting the services of the Wagner Group, which contained a QR code to contact recruiters. The court deemed their actions part of a hybrid war aimed at destabilizing Poland and the EU. The prosecution alleges that the Russians previously distributed leaflets in France and Germany discrediting the governments of those countries.

The defendants did not admit guilt but confirmed that they had put up the stickers.

• Following the Wagner Group's mutiny in the summer of 2023, the Kremlin stated that the mercenaries would be sent to Belarusian territory. Poland perceived this as a threat. In July 2023, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that over a hundred Wagner fighters were moving toward the Suwałki Corridor, calling it "a step towards a hybrid attack."
• Shortly before this, Alexander Lukashenko noted that the Wagner members had begun to worry him, as they wanted to "go on a tour to Warsaw."

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