Belarus accuses a Pole of spying on the Zapad exercise. Poland calls it absurd

A Polish citizen has been detained in Belarus, accused of "spying" on the Russian-Belarusian Zapad exercise. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk denied the accusations and said that according to his information, the young Polish monk was staying with a priest friend, reports RMF 24.

Polish Minister Promises to Quickly Prepare Retaliatory Measures if the Situation with His Country's Citizen Does Not Change.

"Belarusian accusations are absurd... We can in no way tolerate such provocations and absurdity. After the return of Minister Sikorski, we will develop an action plan for the coming weeks on Belarus," Tusk said.

The independent Belarusian portal Dzerkalo reported, that the state TV channel Pervyi Informatsiynyi.

reported on the detention of Grzegorz Gawel, a resident of Krakow born in 1998, in the town of Lepel, Vitebsk region, northeastern Belarus

The report said that the man was allegedly collecting information about the Russian-Belarusian Zapad exercise.

According to the TV channel, the man allegedly contacted the Belarusian citizen via social media and offered him cooperation with the Polish special services. In particular, to collect data on military facilities in Belarus. A criminal case was opened against him under the article "espionage.".

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regards this incident as a provocation. The Polish mission in Minsk will take all necessary diplomatic and legal measures to provide assistance and support to the Polish citizen detained by the Belarusian special services," said Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski.

• august 22 The Foreign Ministry warned Belarus against "reckless provocations" amid joint exercises with Russia. Partners urged to remain vigilant.
• On September 1, Belarus launched military exercises involving nuclear weapons. More than 2,000 military personnel from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan are allegedly taking part in the exercise.