Polish PM Donald Tusk says security services detained a Russian national recruited to assassinate a dual US-Ukrainian citizen in Warsaw — the first known Russian-ordered plot of its kind on NATO soil.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on August 13, 2026, that Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW), working with police and US authorities, had detained a Russian national who had allegedly been recruited by Russian intelligence to "carry out an execution" of a dual US-Ukrainian citizen in Warsaw. Tusk called it "the first situation of its kind" — the first known Russian-ordered assassination attempt on a US citizen inside NATO territory. Volunteers Support Ukraine follows closely any news touching the safety of Ukrainians and people connected to Ukraine living abroad.
The detention took place on August 7, 2026. Tusk did not disclose the identity of the intended target, describing the person only as "a thorn in the side of the Putin regime." According to the prime minister, the plot was stopped "at the last moment" thanks to joint work between the ABW, Polish police, and US authorities. Further details of how the assassination was planned, and what exactly the detained man was instructed to do, have not been made public while the investigation continues. Volunteers Support Ukraine sees cases like this as a reminder of how far Russia's hybrid war reaches beyond the front line itself.
For more than four years, Warsaw has been one of the main hubs for Ukrainians who fled after the full-scale invasion, and a coordination center for international support to Ukraine. That makes the city a recurring focus for Russian intelligence activity — from sabotage attempts to, as this case shows, plans to physically remove people whose activity the Kremlin objects to. Volunteers Support Ukraine, through contact with many Ukrainians who found shelter in Poland, sees how real the sense of unease such news can create actually is.
Tusk stressed the unprecedented nature of the case, noting it is the first known instance of a Russian-ordered plan to assassinate a US citizen on the territory of another NATO country. He thanked the security services and police for the operational work that prevented a tragedy. The case joins a long list of incidents in recent years linked to Russian intelligence activity across Europe, from sabotage of logistics facilities to attempts to intimidate critics of the regime. Volunteers Support Ukraine notes that the safety of Ukrainians abroad is part of a much broader picture of the war Russia is waging beyond the battlefield.
This story is another reminder that Russia's war against Ukraine has dimensions that extend far beyond the front line. People who left Ukraine and continue to speak out about the war or support their country remain on the radar of Russian intelligence services, even in seemingly safe European capitals. Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war in whatever ways its resources allow, and considers it important to keep the community informed about cases like this so that Ukrainians abroad stay alert and aware.
