Poland says it stopped a Russian plot to kill a U.S. citizen in Warsaw

WARSAW - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday that authorities stopped a Russian plan to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw before the attack could take place.

Tusk told reporters it was the first time, in his words, that someone acting on orders from Russia sought to attack a U.S. citizen on the territory of another NATO country. He said the intended victim was "uncomfortable for the Putin regime," without giving further detail.

Warsaw police said the suspect, allegedly recruited by Russian secret services, was detained on Aug. 7 and will be held for three months. Tomasz Siemoniak, the Polish minister who oversees intelligence services, said the operation was carried out with U.S. services. He described the target as a U.S. citizen of Ukrainian origin.

Western officials have warned for years that Russia has stepped up targeted killings since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and have said they have disrupted other plots across Europe. Tusk said this case was different because the intended victim was an American on NATO soil.

The Associated Press reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reports and had no additional information.

Intelligence officials have previously told the AP that Russian security services have grown more aggressive in choosing targets, including Russian activists, foreign supporters of Ukraine, and military defectors. Tusk said Poland and other countries must assume Moscow will try to eliminate people it finds inconvenient and must be ready to counter those efforts.

Past cases cited by Western governments include the 2006 killing of Alexander Litvinenko in London, the 2018 Novichok attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, and the 2019 shooting of a former Chechen commander in Berlin. In June, a Russian artist critical of President Vladimir Putin was shot near his home in eastern Poland. Tusk said at the time that killing had the hallmarks of a political assassination.

Officials released no name for the intended victim in Warsaw and did not describe how the attack was to be carried out.