Poland-Russia crisis escalates as Russians get kicked out of their homes
Tensions between Russia and Poland are escalating after the Warsaw Municipality seized a high school building where the children of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw were educated. The Russian Ambassador to Warsaw, Siergiej Andriejew, was called to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was given a protest note. The note was a response to former Russian Presidential Child Rights Commissioner Pavel Astahov’s call for the murder of Poland’s Ambassador to Moscow. The Polish ministry has expressed its strong protest and has initiated a criminal investigation, expecting the perpetrator to be punished accordingly.
The latest crisis between the two countries started when the Warsaw Municipality seized the Russian Embassy at 45 Kielecka street and the building where the children of the military officers received their high school education last Saturday. The Warsaw Municipality did not extend the contract for the building given to the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Warsaw in 1953 by the Polish Ministry of National Defense for free and indefinite use in 2010. They asked the embassy to evacuate the building, but Russia refused to evacuate, arguing that the building in question was the diplomatic representation building. The dispute, which was brought to court, was concluded in favor of the Warsaw Municipality.
After the Russian Embassy did not evacuate the building within the given legal time limit, on April 29, municipal officials entered the school with the help of a locksmith, accompanied by enforcement officers and the police. In the meantime, 27 people residing in the school’s lodging section evacuated the building, moving to another address indicated by the embassy.
In response to the seizure, Astahov made inflammatory comments on a Russian television channel, saying, “They kicked them out of their homes, kicked them out of the resorts, froze their bank accounts, took all the money from our diplomatic mission, now they took our school. How do we respond? Anger, don’t call the ambassador, don’t give notes.” He also made a disturbing reference to the Polish Ambassador to Moscow, hinting at the possibility of him being found floating in the river.
This latest development highlights the escalating tensions between Russia and Poland. The situation is likely to be closely watched by the international community, as any further escalation could have significant implications for the wider region.
