Speaking ahead of a Cabinet meeting, Tusk also referenced a second similar recent incident: a fire at a production and warehouse facility belonging to JFG Composites in Lublin, a company that manufactures aviation components.
"As for the fires at these two facilities... in the case of Skarżysko-Kamienna, there is no doubt this was deliberate arson, an act of sabotage," Tusk said.
Regarding the Lublin incident, Tusk said there is no direct evidence yet, but that arson cannot be ruled out there either, given the nature of the facility's production.
The prime minister warned that the coming weeks and months will be a test not only for Ukraine in its war with Russia, but for the entire region, saying he believes Moscow plans to escalate tensions and destabilize neighboring countries.
Tusk placed particular emphasis on a connection between these incidents and a vote scheduled in the Polish parliament for Sept. 4, in which lawmakers are set to decide the fate of President Karol Nawrocki's veto of a bill regulating the cryptocurrency market. The prime minister urged the opposition and the president himself to reconsider their position, stressing that passing the law would significantly complicate the financing of terrorist activity against Poland.
"The vast majority of terrorist operations are based on cryptocurrency," Tusk said, adding that payment and recruitment for the perpetrators of the recent arson attacks likely also occurred through cryptocurrency — since the lack of regulation allows that market to operate with virtually no oversight.
"Russia uses cryptocurrency as its main mechanism for financing this kind of operation," the prime minister said.
The threat of Russian provocations
On June 29, Lithuania's Defense Ministry said there were currently no objective signs that Russia was preparing for a full-scale military attack on the Baltic states.
On July 3, The Telegraph reported, citing sources close to Polish President Karol Nawrocki, that the United States had warned Warsaw that Moscow was preparing an armed provocation on Polish territory. According to the newspaper's reporting, the provocation could originate from Kaliningrad or Belarus and could range from missile strikes and drone attacks to illegal border crossings.
On July 15, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Russia may be preparing a false-flag operation using Ukrainian drones.