Former Polish intelligence chief Andrzej Derlatka reports increased Russian espionage targeting Poland and Europe, using social media and cryptocurrency-mediated sabotage.

Intelligence & EspionageHuman Intelligence (HUMINT)Recruitment of locals

Aggressor

Summary

Former Polish intelligence chief Andrzej Derlatka, in an interview on TALKING WITH TVP WORLD, explains that Russian espionage in Europe has intensified since Russia's war in Ukraine began. He states that Poland is a primary target due to its support for Ukraine and the EU's opposition to Moscow. Russian spies now actively target European infrastructure such as railways and use social media platforms to recruit criminals for sabotage, compensating them in cryptocurrency to evade detection. Derlatka emphasizes the challenge European intelligence services face in tracking these new methods.

Classification

Confidence: High

The event clearly describes hostile Russian espionage activities targeting Poland and Europe, involving recruitment of individuals for sabotage, thus classified as an aggressor event with high confidence based on attribution to Russian intelligence actions and concrete operational details.

Source URL

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hzZWg2_mI6s

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: extension
Submitted: Feb 1, 2026, 00:14 UTC
Last updated: Nov 4, 2026, 08:35 UTC
Event time: May 24, 2023, 00:00 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "68732d0e-f7d5-4dde-820e-cf1d83a5e76c",
  "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=hzZWg2_mI6s",
  "source": "extension",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Intelligence & Espionage",
  "subcategory": "Human Intelligence (HUMINT)",
  "incident_type": "Recruitment of locals",
  "country": "Poland",
  "source_reliability": "C",
  "info_credibility": "3",
  "tags": [
    "russian intelligence operations",
    "Poland",
    "european union",
    "Social media recruitment",
    "Cryptocurrency",
    "Sabotage",
    "Andrzej Derlatka",
    "Intelligence",
    "HUMINT"
  ],
  "nodes": [],
  "countries": [],
  "where_text": "Land",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "In this video segment by TALKING WITH TVP WORLD, former Polish intelligence chief Andrzej Derlatka discusses the increase in Russian espionage activities targeting Europe, especially Poland, amid Russia's aggression in Ukraine and tensions with the EU. Derlatka highlights that Russia has escalated spying operations since the invasion of Ukraine, focusing on infrastructure and railway targets. He notes that Russian spies use social media to recruit criminals for sabotage and pay them in cryptocurrency, making detection difficult. Poland is identified as one of Russia's main espionage targets in Europe.",
  "summary_short": "Former Polish intelligence chief Andrzej Derlatka reports increased Russian espionage targeting Poland and Europe, using social media and cryptocurrency-mediated sabotage.",
  "summary_extended": "Former Polish intelligence chief Andrzej Derlatka, in an interview on TALKING WITH TVP WORLD, explains that Russian espionage in Europe has intensified since Russia's war in Ukraine began. He states that Poland is a primary target due to its support for Ukraine and the EU's opposition to Moscow. Russian spies now actively target European infrastructure such as railways and use social media platforms to recruit criminals for sabotage, compensating them in cryptocurrency to evade detection. Derlatka emphasizes the challenge European intelligence services face in tracking these new methods.",
  "actor_primary": "Russian spies",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "Poland",
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": 51.919438,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 19.145136,
  "location_precision": "Regional",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": false,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The event clearly describes hostile Russian espionage activities targeting Poland and Europe, involving recruitment of individuals for sabotage, thus classified as an aggressor event with high confidence based on attribution to Russian intelligence actions and concrete operational details.",
  "event_time_utc": "2023-05-24T00:00:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "unknown",
  "created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:35.473Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T08:35:32.139Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "regional",
  "time_precision_band": "unknown",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: UnknownLocation: Regional

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

May 24, 2023, 00:00 UTC

Event time confidence

unknown

Location

Poland

Primary actor

Russian spies

Country

Poland

Tags

russian intelligence operations, Poland, european union, Social media recruitment, Cryptocurrency, Sabotage, Andrzej Derlatka, Intelligence, HUMINT

Loading signal...

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