Polish prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old Ukrainian citizen, identified as Illia K., with 47 acts of sabotage allegedly carried out on behalf of Russian intelligence between November 2024 and August 2025. The charges, filed in a Wrocław district court, include desecrating memorials to Polish victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and preparing to fly a drone over the vehicle of President Karol Nawrocki during last year’s Armed Forces Day parade. The suspect, who faces a sentence ranging from ten years to life imprisonment, was arrested three days before the parade. According to Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), the aim was to incite ethnic tensions between Poland and Ukraine by exploiting historical grievances, particularly the Volhynia massacre of 1943–44, in which tens of thousands of ethnic Poles were killed by UPA units.

Polish investigators state that Illia K. acted for financial gain rather than ideological conviction, receiving payments in cryptocurrencies registered in Russia and China, and that he recruited others to participate. The ABW reported that it launched 48 espionage investigations last year, more than double the 2024 figure, and assessed that Russian services are focusing on discrediting Poland internationally and weaponising “historical ethnic antagonisms, mainly in Polish-Ukrainian relations.” Moscow has repeatedly denied orchestrating sabotage on EU territory, dismissing such allegations as anti-Russian propaganda. The case has unfolded against a backdrop of renewed diplomatic friction: in May, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine issued a decree naming a military unit after “Heroes of the UPA,” prompting President Nawrocki to revoke Ukraine’s highest Polish state honour, the Order of the White Eagle, for only the second time in three centuries.

Viewed from Warsaw, the UPA is a criminal organisation responsible for mass killings of civilians; in Kyiv, the formation is remembered primarily for its post-1945 fight against Soviet occupation, a divergence that analysts at Warsaw’s Office for Eastern Studies say leaves each society largely unaware of the other’s historical narrative. The ABW’s public statements frame the alleged sabotage as part of a broader campaign to fracture the Polish-Ukrainian alliance that has been central to Western military and humanitarian support for Kyiv. Meanwhile, separate proceedings in London and Kursk illustrate how authorities across the continent are grappling with cases of minors drawn into extremist activity. A 14-year-old boy appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to preparing terrorist acts against two mosques in Sutton, south London, allegedly motivated by an “extreme right-wing ideology.” The court heard that he had identified targets, conducted reconnaissance, and collected instructional material for attacks planned on 28 August, as well as causing racially aggravated damage to a car window under a scheme nicknamed “Operation Terrorise Sutton.” He was remanded to youth detention ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey on 21 August.

In Russia, the Investigative Committee announced the detention of a 15-year-old in Kursk on charges of preparing to participate in a terrorist organisation. Officials said the teenager initiated contact via social media with an unidentified person acting on behalf of a terrorist group and expressed willingness to cooperate. Russian authorities have noted a rise in such cases, attributing recruitment efforts to handlers based abroad, including in Ukraine, who use messaging platforms to solicit arson attacks on transport infrastructure and assaults on law enforcement. The Kursk suspect awaits a court decision on pre-trial detention. All three cases are now moving through national judicial systems, with the Polish trial expected to draw particular attention given its implications for regional security and the ongoing information war between Russia and NATO member states.