Poland refuses to extradite Russian GRU agent behind 2024 parcel attacks
Alexander Bezrukavy being extradited to Poland (Photo: Polish Interior Ministry)
Poland has declined to extradite a man suspected of coordinating incendiary parcel attacks in several European airports to Russia, despite Moscow claiming the individual is wanted by Russian authorities, Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported on Sept. 22.
The newspaper, citing unnamed Polish law enforcement sources, identified the suspect as 44-year-old Alexander Bezrukavy, arrested earlier this year in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report said Polish counterintelligence had been tracking Bezrukavy since August 2024, when it determined he was directing GRU (Russian military intelligence service) sabotage operations.
Bezrukavy was detained in Bosnia without a passport as he reportedly tried to slip into Serbia on his way back to Russia. Bosnian authorities received competing extradition requests from Warsaw and Moscow. They approved Poland’s request; Russia’s bid was rejected. A subsequent Russian extradition request remains unanswered, the report added.
In July 2024, numerous parcels stored in logistics warehouses across airports in Germany, Poland, and the UK exploded and continued to burn. Various media reports later linked the apparent arson attacks to Russian intelligence services.
Gazeta Wyborcza further reported that Bezrukavy once received Spanish residency after presenting a forged marriage certificate. He claimed to be married to a Ukrainian woman who runs a travel agency, but sources say she was actually his mistress; his real wife lives back in Russia.
Polish law enforcement officials told the newspaper they are confident they have enough evidence to secure a conviction against Bezrukavy for alleged GRU activity and planning terrorist acts.
The sources suggested that the two Russian extradition requests were fake, with Moscow merely aiming to get their agent safely back home.
“Russian [security] services did not investigate him [Bezrukavy] at all; these [extradition requests] are all lies,” the report quoted one of its sources.
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