A scandal has erupted in Poland over the security services’ initial unwillingness to investigate a case in which a suspect was caught with jamming devices in Warsaw’s Chopin airport in December.
According to Polish media reports, the suspect – a 26-year-old Ukrainian man identified as Ilya S., born in Kyiv – was detained at the airport for suspicious behavior before security services finally intervened after the police escalated via official channels.
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Ukrainian man with suspected Kremlin ties
As reported by Polish outlet Onet, the suspect was approached by airport security over an unusually long stay without a clear explanation, with subsequent searches uncovering further items of interest.
On Dec. 17, airport security first approached the suspect at an airport cafe, where he claimed he was waiting for a flight to Canada after missing one. When spotted again on Dec. 25, he failed to provide a coherent explanation.
During searches, the man was found with an assortment of electrical devices – including a box with antennas that authorities said is a jamming device.
“It’s a multi-band jammer used primarily to jam GSM systems. It’s commonly used by car thieves to jam GPS and GSM systems, which can be used to locate a stolen car. It can also jam certain types of drones,” Onet’s source at the airport said.
The source added that the suspect carried items indicating a planned, prolonged stay at the airport.
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“There were traces of oatmeal in the kettle, so he clearly cooked it in that suitcase. Where would a man like that get such an idea? The only explanation is that he cooked the food on the spot to stay at the airport as long as possible,” the person said.
Investigators later found he had arrived on Dec. 9 via Warsaw’s Modlin airport and was frequently seen at the cafe until late at night. The man holds Polish and Canadian visas, an expired UK visa, and has made frequent trips to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He is also said to have visited Syria and Lebanon frequently, raising suspicions among Polish authorities about possible Kremlin links due to the countries’ political affiliations.
The man also has not been to Ukraine since 2021, the year before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Poland has previously arrested Ukrainians reportedly spying for Russia. In July 2025, Warsaw detained 32 individuals – including Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, a Pole, and a Colombian – on suspicion of espionage. In November, two Ukrainians were charged with rail sabotage.
Suspicious device
It remains unclear whether the suspect used the device to disrupt airport operations, though some sources claim disruptions occurred about two weeks before his arrest.
The airport’s communications officials did not address the sabotage claims when asked by Onet.
Onet’s unnamed airport source said authorities believed the man might have been probing the airport’s systems.
“The working theory is that he may have been testing certain capabilities on it. They were considering whether such a jammer could affect the airport’s permit system, allowing someone to enter the restricted area undetected,” the person said.
“He was probably also sending some coordinates from the airport.”
An unidentified specialist quoted by Onet said the device can jam some communications but not disrupt navigation systems.
“Such a jammer can disrupt radio systems, walkie-talkies, communications between ground crew and aircraft cabin crew, the work of border guards, and disrupt the GSM phones of passengers who need connectivity for many things, such as downloading an electronic flight ticket and boarding pass online,” Onet’s specialist said.
“Therefore, it will actually cause disruption, as we are dependent on electronics and mobile phone-based systems.”
Onet said that the suspect tried to explain the jammer by claiming to be a Ukrainian soldier using it to protect himself against drones, even though he has not been in Ukraine since 2021.
Jurisdictional ping-pong
Police reportedly made initial unofficial inquiries due to the case’s sensitive nature, but being passed around prompted frustration and led them to escalate it through official channels.
Police sought to detain the man, but superiors initially said there was insufficient evidence and ordered his release.
Border guards supported the airport police and consulted other agencies, but the nearby counterterrorism center from the Internal Security Agency (ABW) had only a telephone operator on duty during the holidays, and there was no response.
They then asked the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) for help, but it said it was ABW’s jurisdiction, while ABW claimed it wasn’t their responsibility.
Ultimately, police escalated the case, and the Department for Combating Criminal Terrorism and Homicide at Warsaw Police Headquarters took over.
“When everyone finally ignored them, the police finally got angry,” Onet’s source said. “Until then, they’d been handling everything unofficially over the phone, because, as everyone knows, these things stink and it’s better to handle them quietly among superiors, so they can decide who’s responsible.”
Police officers had to record everything for the case to finally be considered, the person said.
“But then they reported the matter officially to the radio station, and everything’s recorded there. They recorded everything they could: The man with the jammer, the jamming failures at the airport, the suspicion of sabotage, the guy’s inability to explain himself. Only then did the matter become formal,” the person added.
The Warsaw-Ochota District Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the suspect, reviewing his stay in Poland and airport footage. The court ordered one-month detention, with a possible extension under consideration.