Belarusian TV channel Belarus 1 reported that “citizens from Belarus and Poland were arrested in the Vitebsk region following an intelligence operation conducted by one of the Polish intelligence agencies.” The channel broadcast “secret” documents in the possession of the Polish citizen regarding the Belarusian-Russian “West-2025” exercises. A Belarusian citizen was also arrested in the operation, accused of collaborating with Gavil. The report clarified that the Pole communicated with him via social media and offered him cooperation for the benefit of Polish intelligence, including gathering secret information about officers and military intelligence personnel. The report indicated that the information obtained by Gavil was sent to the Internal Security Agency in Poland. For its part, the Polish intelligence agencies denied the involvement of the Polish citizen arrested by Belarusian authorities on espionage charges, asserting that he is a monk and has no connection to intelligence gathering. The spokesman for the Polish intelligence coordinator minister, Jacek Dobrzyński, wrote on Platform “X” that “the arrest of the Polish citizen by the Belarusian State Security Committee is a new provocation by the Lukashenko regime against our country… Polish intelligence agencies do not use monks to gather information about military maneuvers.” Belarusian authorities stated that he was charged under Article 358 of the Criminal Code related to espionage. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin had earlier announced the reduction of the scope of the “West-2025” maneuvers and their transfer to the depths of Belarusian territory away from the western borders.
