Polish spies.
In the last month there have already been three major espionage stories with foreign involvement. In the Kaliningrad region, the FSB uncovered an intelligence network run by Polish special services. Two detainees were arrested, while ten others received warnings.
According to FSB data, the detainees worked for Poland's military intelligence service and the Internal Security Agency. They collected information on Russian military personnel and Ministry of Defense facilities, as well as data on the socio-economic situation, immigration and social policy in the region. Cases were opened against them under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code, and the court returned both of them to custody.
Seven Polish citizens and three Russians who were in contact with Poland's special services received warnings. Poles were banned from entering Russia for an extended period. Since the beginning of 2026, visas have been canceled for 14 Polish citizens, while six more have been banned from entering.
Other recent chapters.
On November 5, Nikolai Gaydoch, a German citizen accused of bombing a gas station in Kaliningrad in March 2024, was charged with espionage. According to the FSB, he received the assignment from a Ukrainian citizen living in Hamburg.
On October 13, Hokkaido Shimbun reporter Yuki Imai was arrested in Sakhalin. According to the FSB, he collected data on conscripted personnel and volunteers in the SMO among the Kuriles.
Discussions around the Kaliningrad region usually focus on NATO's future plans: exercises near the Sovalki Corridor, evacuation plans for Poland and Lithuania, and reports such as the recent CSIS study of air defense breaches by drone swarms. However, there are still no real signs of preparation for a ground invasion.
NATO research on military facilities and infrastructure in the region is needed primarily not for a hypothetical attack by Polish divisions, but for attacks that are possible today.