Russian spy Pavel Rubtsov “left Poland with complete knowledge”

Rubtsov was released from Polish custody as part of a recent prisoner exchange between Western countries and RussiaHe operated, among others, in Poland, using his journalist status to gather information on Ukraine for the Russian special services, its goal was also to gain the trust of Russian oppositionists.

Statement on the Russian agent released by Poland. Who is he?

“Rzeczpospolita” wrote on Thursday that before the spy returned to Russia, “he learned everything that was gathered on him in the Polish investigation”. “That is the procedure – the prosecutor's office claims and argues that it could not refuse him access to files, even secret ones” – it added.

'He left with a complete set of knowledge, there is a risk that he found out too much and passed it on to his principals,' says a high-ranking ABW officer quoted by “Rzeczpospolita”.

The daily also quotes the statement of the spokesman of the National Prosecutor's Office, Przemysław Nowak, who said that “Pablo G., before closing the investigation, exercised his right specified in Article 321, paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure”. He added that “Rubtsov was acquainted with all the evidence, including the classified material”.

“Rzeczpospolita” reported that Rubtsov had been reading the files since mid-July, for two weeks. “The suspect familiarized himself with the classified materials in the secret office of the ABW. With the unclassified ones, at the prosecutor's office,” the spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office reported.

According to the ABW officer quoted by the daily, the prosecutor's office made a mistake. “The prosecutor's office, knowing that he would be replaced, should have denied him access based on Article 156 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This provision was introduced in 2021 to protect an important state interest and is a safety valve. Why was it not used?” – asks the officer.

“Rzeczpospolita” writes that the investigator who gave him access to the files did not know that Rubtsov would be released from custody, and “everything took place in a manner that has not been known to this day.”

We have also contacted the spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office in this matter. Przemysław Nowak announced that a statement on this matter should be expected on Thursday.

Earlier, in mid-August, the prosecutor's office reported that “the prosecutor from the Lublin Branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption in Lublin submitted an indictment to the District Court in Przemyśl against Pablo GY vel Pavel R.” It also reported at the time that the prosecutor accused Pablo Gonzalez vel Pavel Rubtsov of committing the crime of espionage under Article 130 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code.

“Pablo GY vel Pavel R. was accused of providing foreign intelligence (Russian military intelligence) from April 2016 to February 2022 in Przemyśl, Warsaw and elsewhere with information that could have been harmful to the Republic of Poland, including as a NATO member state. The accused's activities included obtaining and providing information, spreading disinformation and conducting operational reconnaissance,” reads the release, which also noted that Pablo GY vel Pavel R. was detained on February 28, 2022.

The prosecutor’s office also announced that the evidence concerning other collaborators (including against the suspect Magdalena Ch.) was excluded from separate proceedings, which are being continued.

The National Prosecutor's Office also provided information about the accused. “Pablo GY vel Pavel R. was born in 1982 in Moscow. He holds Spanish and Russian citizenship. The investigation was conducted jointly with the Internal Security Agency,” the prosecutor's office noted. It also reported that the suspect was placed under temporary arrest from March 2, 2022 to July 31, 2024. “The accused is charged with committing a crime under Article 130 § 2 of the Penal Code in the wording in force until October 1, 2023, and therefore faces a prison sentence of 3 to 15 years,” the statement noted.

The case of Pavel Rubtsov, a Russian GRU officer, was described by the investigative portal FrontStory. The portal reported that when Rubtsov was detained by the ABW in February 2022, he was not alone, but with his partner, a journalist who was charged with aiding and abetting espionage. “Their more than two-year relationship opened many doors for Gonzalez,” we read in the FrontStory text, which also added that the former partner of the GRU officer “returned to the front line of news as a reporter.”

The portal also reported that the court did not agree to arrest the journalist, perhaps because the prosecutor's charges were too weak. “For over two years since his arrest, Gonzalez will be the only suspect for Polish and foreign media,” FrontStory noted. The case of Rubtsov vel Gonzalez was also raised on Tuesday by “Wyborcza”, which reported that he would be tried in absentia. The information that Rubtsov/Gonzalez had not been convicted in Poland was confirmed in an interview with “GW” by the spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office, Przemysław Nowak. He said that “the investigation into the actions of Rubtsov/Gonzalez hostile to Poland has not been discontinued.” He also added that “according to the law, he can be charged in absentia, in his absence.”

On August 1, the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries since the Cold War took place in Ankara. The exchange operation involved 24 people serving prison sentences in the United States, GermanyPoland, Slovenia, NorwayRussia and Belarus and two children. Sixteen people have been released from Russian and Belarusian prisons and detention centers, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition figure who also holds British citizenship, Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who holds British citizenship. USA, CanadaGreat Britain and Irelandand Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Eight people have been released from Western prisons, including Pavel Rubtsov, who was detained by Poland on the Polish-Ukrainian border in 2022.