A Russian citizen faces espionage charges in Poland after police caught him photographing railway infrastructure, police in Lower Silesia said Friday.
Officers patrolling after a football match in Świdnica, in south-western Poland, found the 55-year-old man taking photographs of passing trains at an unguarded railway crossing, according to the authorities.
The regional police said the photos "could be used against the security of the state." Łukasz Dutkowiak, a spokesperson for the Lower Silesian police, told Radio Wrocław that officers found a large amount of evidence suggesting the man systematically photographed strategic infrastructure. "There were photographs of various places and important communication facilities, not only in Poland," Dutkowiak said.
Prosecutors are investigating "activities for foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland," the regional authority said. The source does not name the intelligence service involved.
The report places the case within a wider pattern. It says Poland has faced multiple sabotage attacks on military and railway infrastructure over the past year. Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Ukrainian nationals of "cooperating with Russian services" after a November 2025 attack damaged a rail line near the Polish-Ukrainian border. Tusk also said, after September attacks, that Russia "is already waging a hybrid war against us using drones, acts of sabotage and disinformation on the internet." European officials, according to the report, have pointed to an escalation of Russian sabotage over recent months.