Maksym L. was among a group of 14 Ukrainians and two Belarusians who were detained in Poland in 2023 on charges of cooperating with Russian intelligence.
Talking to the news network CNN he said that he received assignments from his Russian handler, Andrzej, whom he never met in person.
Maksym said he went to Poland “fleeing unemployment and poverty.” He accepted the offer to carry out jobs on behalf of Russian intelligence because he was poor, and it was “easy” money.
Andrzej first paid Maksym 30 zloty ($7) in digital currency to paint anti-war graffiti, a task he carried out despite Ukraine fighting off a Russian invasion.
“This country has never done anything for me. I don't believe that just because you were born in a certain country means you have to go to war for it. Don't get me wrong: I'm not pro-Russian, I'm not pro-Ukrainian, I'm not for anyone,” he said.
Over time, Maksym received more serious tasks from his handler. One assignment he was given was to deploy surveillance cameras by the train tracks near the Medyka crossing on the Polish-Ukrainian border, which has become an artery for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
“I didn't think it could do any harm to anyone. It seemed meaningless,” he told CNN.
Andrzej later asked him to set fire to a fence around the perimeter of the headquarters of a Ukrainian transport company in Biała Podlaska, a city in eastern Poland.
But Maksym insisted that he did not carry out this job, claiming, instead, that he faked it by putting pieces of coal by the fence to suggest arson had occurred.
Despite carrying out tasks that suggested he was working for a spy, Maksym claims he only realized he was working with Russian intelligence when he was asked to install cameras near a base where Ukrainian soldiers were training in Poland.
“That's when I knew it could get serious. I didn't feel good about it. That's when I decided I wanted to leave. But I didn't get the chance. I was arrested the next day,” he said.
Polish authorities apprehended Maksym on March 3, 2023, following weeks of surveillance prompted in part by the discovery of a gas station receipt inadvertently dropped during one of his operations, a Polish official revealed.
The arrest led to several others, marking it as the most extensive Russian espionage operation in recent Polish history, prompting concerns in Warsaw regarding Moscow's infiltration efforts.
In August of last year, two Russian nationals were detained under suspicion of recruitment linked to mercenary group Wagner, followed by the apprehension of a Polish citizen and two Belarusians in May for alleged arson.
