Polish police broke into Russian Embassy’s school building in Warsaw
In the Polish capital, local authorities and police officers broke into a school at the Russian Embassy, breaking down the door, RIA Novosti reports
Representatives of the Mayor's Office, accompanied by law enforcement officers, as well as Russian diplomats, including Adviser-Councillor Andrey Ordash, arrived at the school building in Kielecka Street.
A representative of the city administration demanded to open the gate, but was refused. Mr. Ordash explained that the Russian side considers all decisions on the seizure of the building illegal, and warned about retaliatory diplomatic steps.
After that, specially invited services began to break the gate. After a while, they succeeded, and they broke into the building, and then hung a chain with a lock on the gate so that the property could not be taken out of the school.
Only embassy employees were allowed to enter the territory. Mr. Ordash warned that these people have diplomatic status.
On March 1st, 2022, Poland announced that it had begun the process of withdrawing Russian real estate in Warsaw. The Foreign Ministry appealed to the state administration bodies with a submission ‘on the initiation of enforcement proceedings against two real estate objects not used for diplomatic and consular purposes that are in the illegal possession of the Russian Federation’. It was about the buildings in 45 Kielecka Street, where the school is located, and 100 Sobieskiego Street (Russian diplomats used to live there, now the building is not inhabited and needs repair).
In addition, it has become know this week that, about two months ago, the Polish Prosecutor's Office seized significant amounts in Dollars and Polish Zlotys from the accounts of the Russian Embassy and trade mission. The funds were frozen since February last year due to suspicion that they were allegedly used to finance terrorism. At the same time, according to the Russian Ambassador Sergey Andreyev, no one asked the diplomatic mission for explanations, the Polish side did not conduct any investigative actions and did not provide any grounds for withdrawing money.
