Poland receives information on alleged assassination plot targeting PM Tusk and defence minister
Polish authorities announced on 11 October that police had received information about a possible assassination attempt on Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Ministers Tomasz Siemoniak and Marcin Kierwiński ordered a security response, and an inter-agency meeting was scheduled at the Counter-Terrorism Centre of Poland's Internal Security Agency.
Key points
- Polish police received information about a possible assassination plot against PM Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
- Spokespersons Jacek Dobrzyński and Karolina Gałecka announced the information publicly on X on 11 October.
- Ministers Tomasz Siemoniak and Marcin Kierwiński were tasked with taking action on the report.
- A meeting was scheduled at 11:00 Warsaw time at the Counter-Terrorism Centre of Poland's Internal Security Agency, bringing together the Agency, police and the State Protection Service.
- Polish authorities have not disclosed who may be behind the alleged plot or how concrete the threat is.
- Tusk had recently said intelligence points to Russian "plans for hybrid strikes" against countries supporting Ukraine.
Why it matters
Two of Poland's most senior officials — the prime minister and the defence minister — were named as potential targets of an assassination plot, prompting an immediate inter-agency response at the country's Counter-Terrorism Centre. The episode sits against Tusk's recent public warnings of Russian-directed hybrid action against states backing Ukraine, sharpening concerns about escalation on Polish soil.
What happened
On 11 October, Polish authorities publicly disclosed that police had received information about a possible assassination attempt against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. The information was communicated on X by Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the minister-coordinator for special services, and confirmed by Karolina Gałecka, spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.
Minister-coordinator for special services Tomasz Siemoniak and Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration Marcin Kierwiński were instructed to take action on the report. An emergency meeting was scheduled for 11:00 Warsaw time at the Counter-Terrorism Centre of Poland's Internal Security Agency, bringing together the Agency with police and the State Protection Service. Polish authorities had not, at the time of the announcement, disclosed who might be behind the alleged plot or how concrete the threat was.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian media reported the Polish announcement with explicit reference to Tusk's earlier statements about Russian plans for hybrid strikes against countries that support Ukraine, framing the alleged plot as part of a broader Russian-linked hybrid threat campaign directed at Ukraine's backers.
Background
Prime Minister Donald Tusk had recently stated publicly that intelligence data indicated Russian "plans for hybrid strikes" against countries supporting Ukraine, and warned that Poland would face provocations "much more dangerous" than those encountered so far. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz holds the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Poland.