Belarus has detained a Polish monk accused of spying on upcoming Russian-Belarusian military exercises. Poland called the claims “absurd” and a “provocation,” with Prime Minister Donald Tusk warning of retaliatory measures.
Belarusian state TV aired footage of the man, identified as Grzegorz G. from Kraków (b. 1998), being arrested in Lepel. He was found with cash in several currencies, a SIM card registered to someone else, and a confidential eight-page document about the Zapad-2025 military exercises. In the video, he is heard confirming the documents relate to the upcoming drills.
Belarus 1, a major TV channel, claims the monk gathered intelligence on military sites for Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) and contacted a Belarusian via social media, offering monthly payments and gifts like coffee and chocolate for cooperation. While Grzegorz G. faces espionage charges, newssite Wirtualna Polska reports describes him as a Carmelite monk recently based in Kraków.
Polish officials quickly dismissed the case as a Belarusian stunt, with Jacek Dobrzyński, —spokesperson for Poland’s security services—calling it “another provocation by Lukashenko’s regime” and stating
Polish security services do not use monks to spy on military exercises.
Poland and Belarus have experienced strained relations in recent years. Belarus has deliberately created a migrant crisis on the Polish border by encouraging and aiding tens of thousands of migrants—mainly from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa—to attempt crossing into the European Union. At the same time, the Belarusian government has intensified repression against its ethnic Polish minority, imprisoning some community leaders on politically motivated charges.
Poland itself has offered refuge to many Belarusians fleeing persecution, including opposition figures exiled after the disputed 2020 presidential elections. In a related development a Belarusian man was sentenced to two years in prison in Poland this May for espionage on behalf of Minsk.
