Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office has announced that charges have been filed in absentia against a Russian national accused of running a spy network uncovered in the country in 2023.
At the time, 16 people were detained — including 12 Ukrainian citizens, three from Belarus and one from Russia. A court later found them guilty and imposed prison sentences of varying lengths, with the longest term reaching six years. Some have already completed their sentences. The investigation into the network continued, and eight individuals are now involved in the ongoing case: three citizens of Belarus, two of Russia, and one each from Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.
Among these eight is the Russian citizen charged today. According to the National Prosecutor’s Office, this is Mikhail Viktorovich Mirgorodsky, born in 1997. He is acting in the interests of the FSB.
According to Polish prosecutors, Mirgorodsky, while in Russia, organized a network in Poland in 2023 that carried out espionage, sabotage and propaganda activities in the interests of the FSB. Between 1 October 2022 and June 2023, he allegedly used Telegram to create and manage a criminal group of no fewer than 30 people.
Members of the group conducted reconnaissance of military and infrastructure sites, printed and posted leaflets, beat Ukrainian and Belarusian citizens because of their political activity, and set fire to their property. They also prepared to carry out an act of sabotage on the railway. The group received funding via cryptocurrency.
Mirgorodsky faces five charges:
– creating and directing an organized criminal group of a terrorist nature,
– organizing and managing foreign intelligence activities,
– directing an attempted catastrophe on land transport,
– inciting violence and destruction of property,
– financing terrorist crimes.
Mirgorodsky is not in Poland. Prosecutors requested that he be placed in pre-trial detention, and the court approved the request. This allowed prosecutors to issue a warrant for his arrest and begin procedures to place him on an international wanted list, including through an Interpol Red Notice.
The case is being investigated jointly by the prosecutor’s office and the Internal Security Agency.
