A Russian court has sentenced Georgy Pirogov to 23 years in a high-security penal colony for spying for Polish intelligence, with the FSB announcing the verdict the day after Poland said it had detained a Russian national suspected of planning a killing in Warsaw.
The FSB said Pirogov left Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, established contact with a representative of Polish military intelligence in Poland in April 2022, and was then tasked with collecting and passing classified information about Russian weapons used in the war.
The FSB's statement did not explain when or how Pirogov returned to Russia or provide any evidence to back its claims.
On Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a Russian citizen had been detained on 7 August on suspicion of preparing an assassination in Warsaw.
Tusk said Russian security services had recruited the suspect and added that the Kremlin chose the intended target because it saw him as a threat.
"He was inconvenient from the point of view of Putin's regime," Tusk said. The Polish premier declined to name the target, citing legal restrictions.
Pirogov's trial opened in May and was held behind closed doors. The FSB said he used contacts in Russia's defence industry to obtain restricted information on the production and use of missile systems, as well as personal data of individuals with access to state secrets.
The indictment also alleged he made cryptocurrency transfers to support Ukraine's armed forces, bought equipment and organised its delivery from Poland to Ukraine.
The independent Russian outlet Mediazona reported that Pirogov moved to Georgia after the invasion began and worked as an industrial climber, citing relatives and human rights activists. In the summer of 2024 he travelled to Uzbekistan on a business trip and then disappeared.
In July 2024 it emerged he was being held at Matrosskaya Tishina remand prison in Moscow. Independent Russian media said they did not know who detained him or under what circumstances he was brought back to Russia.
Treason charges a tool of the Kremlin
Russia has significantly expanded its espionage and treason laws since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The maximum sentence for treason rose from 20 to 25 years after legislative changes in 2022 and 2023, and the definition of state treason was broadened to cover a wider range of contacts with foreign states and organisations.
The FSB has also been given expanded powers to detain and prosecute individuals suspected of espionage without the same evidentiary threshold previously required.
Treason cases in Russia numbered in the single digits annually before 2014, when Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea prompted the first significant spike.
Last year, almost 500 people, including Ukrainian citizens, were convicted in Russia on espionage and treason charges.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion, Poland has become one of Ukraine's most significant military supporters, providing weapons, ammunition and training. Poland also hosts a large US military presence.
Warsaw has expelled Russian diplomats and closed the Russian consulate in Kraków over espionage concerns.
Poland's counter-intelligence services have reported a major increase in Russian malign interference, including sabotage and recruitment operations on Polish soil since 2022, targeting infrastructure, Ukrainian diaspora networks and individuals critical of the Kremlin.
