Poland is closing the Russian Consulate General in Gdańsk – Moscow’s last in the country, in response to the weekend’s bomb attack on a strategically important railway line.

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Wednesday in Warsaw that he had withdrawn the diplomatic mission’s licence.

Poland would also take further steps “of a non-diplomatic nature” following the incident.

Sikorski did not provide any details.

The Polish government accuses Russian intelligence services of being behind the destruction of tracks on the line from Warsaw to Lublin.

The blast occurred near the village of Mika, about 100 kilometres south-east of the capital.

No one was injured because a train driver noticed the damage in time and reported it.

Investigators are seeking two suspects, Ukrainian citizens who are said to have acted on behalf of Moscow and fled to Belarus after the attack.

Sikorski said this marked a significant escalation in Russia’s actions.

“Sabotage is when property is damaged. If the intention is to kill people, it is no longer sabotage, but state terrorism,” according to the minister.

The Russian Consulate General in the northern port city was the last remaining institution of its kind in Poland.

In May, Poland closed the consulate in Krakow following allegations of arson against Russian intelligence.

The consulate in Poznan in 2024 was closed for the same reason.

Sikorski stressed that, like other EU countries affected by the actions of the Russian secret service, Poland had no intention of closing the Russian embassy in Warsaw and breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow.

Speaking of a “complete deterioration” in relations with Poland, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the closure of the Gdańsk consulate was an expression of the Polish leadership’s desire to destroy any possibility of consular or diplomatic ties.

“One can only express regret,” said Peskov.

Poland’s foreign minister went on to say that a request would be made to the government in Belarus to extradite the two suspects: “These are the procedures,” Sikorski said.

There are no great hopes that the country, ruled authoritatively by Alexander Lukashenko, will comply with the request.

Belarus is a close ally of Russia. 

(dpa/NAN)