Polish MP calls for investigation into Russian involvement after massive fires hit Warsaw

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) - A parliamentary deputy on Poland’s National Defense Committee on Monday called for a special services investigation into Sunday's fires in Warsaw.

"The fire in Bialoleka (a suburb of Warsaw) and all such tragic cases must be analyzed in detail by the special services.

"Every large fire, every disaster may be an element of sabotage activities directed from the East," Witold Zembaczynski, an MP of the ruling Civic Coalition, sitting on the Sejm’s National Defense Committee, wrote on X.

The fire in the shopping mall at 44 Marywilska Street in Warsaw broke out at around 2.30 a.m. (0030GMT) on Sunday, destroying most of the hall area.

Some 250 firefighters took part in the firefighting operation. A bulk storage yard was also set on fire in Wilanow, another Warsaw suburb, with about 30 firefighters tackling the fire, while in Siekierki, a building materials sorting plant was set on fire.

“It's a strange situation that after 11 minutes the fire covered such a large area. Our experience shows that it should not spread so quickly,” Chief Commander of the State Fire Service Mariusz Feltynowski told local media.

Journalist Tomasz Piatek noted that next to the burning hall is the Technology Center of the Interdisciplinary Center for Mathematical and Computer Modeling (CT ICM), which cooperates with, among others, the Government Security Center and the EuroQCI network to protect governments and energy networks in the EU.

"The fire did not pose a threat to CT ICM. But I would check if anyone was trying to take advantage of the possible confusion," Piatek said.

Russian state-sponsored hackers are targeting Polish government institutions in an espionage campaign, Poland’s computer emergency response team, CERT-PL, said last week.

Several other NATO countries have accused the Kremlin of conducting cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, including in Germany, on the Social Democratic Party.

The same threat actor also targeted government services, critical infrastructure operators, and other entities across NATO, including in Lithuania, Slovakia, and Sweden.

Russia attacked 106 infrastructure facilities in Ukraine last week, the Defense Ministry's Military Media Center reported on Sunday, leaving thousands of households without power.