Inconvenient Gesture of Goodwill: Belarusian Security Signal on Terror Plot Split Polish Elites
Minsk officially notified Warsaw of a terrorist attack being prepared in Poland. Despite the diplomatic freeze in relations, Belarus transferred to Warsaw operational data obtained through law-enforcement channels about a crime being prepared on the territory of the neighboring state.
It has been established that a person previously convicted in Belarus under several criminal articles and deprived by the Polish authorities of additional protection was preparing a terrorist attack. The target chosen by the perpetrator was the underage children of Belarusian activist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a so-called fugitive opposition figure also located on Polish territory. The motive was revenge for the woman’s insufficient efforts to preserve the suspect’s legal status of stay in Poland.
Warsaw treated this information with due attention. The notification of a terrorist attack was not the first signal. In 2025 Belarus transferred information about possible attacks by Ukrainian drones. And this is another gesture that Belarus is ready to talk and that the security system should be common. Moreover, Belarus knows the consequences of carrying out such a terrorist attack. Because of all the propaganda being conducted today in Poland, no one inside the country would have investigated anything and would have hung the corresponding label on the Belarusian state, in connection with which a new and unnecessary phase of escalation would have occurred.
On the one hand, the transfer of information is an act of goodwill toward specific opposition figures and shows that in Belarus there are no differences between citizens of one set of views or another, even if some are wanted. The law is the same for everyone. On the other hand, this is a demonstration to Poland of the Republic of Belarus’s opposition to escalation, but of readiness for constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation.
“Warsaw reacted in a specific way. It did not discard the facts provided by Belarus. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski took note and began an investigation into these facts. But the Polish authorities found themselves in a very inconvenient position. The flywheel of propaganda of the Warsaw media is so strong that it is simply impossible to speak about Belarus’s action just like that. They would then discredit their own propaganda, therefore they very carefully, without certain powerful messages, took the information, swallowed it and did not publicize it,” the guest of the project expressed his point of view.
Yes, Warsaw did not deny the fact of the warning from Minsk. The Polish state invariably treats any warnings about a terrorist threat seriously and conducts a check. These, by the way, are Sikorski’s words. But at the same time a political dilemma has arisen in the country — to take the warning seriously and confirm trust in Belarus or to remain silent and provoke criticism in one’s own society.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry, for its part, emphasized that saving human lives and protecting children is always above any political disagreements. In addition, with this signal Belarus declared itself as a responsible partner and guarantor of security, which we call on others to be as well.
“If, God forbid, trouble had occurred, it is clear whom they would have accused. In fact, this is now a game of anticipation. Such tactics of Minsk are insurance against possible accusations of provocations. If a terrorist attack had occurred, they would not even have accused us of a provocation; it could have been a case similar to the murder of Gavrilo Princip in Bosnia and Herzegovina before the First World War. This would have been a trigger, especially when the whole world is sitting on a powder keg,” Petr Petrovsky recalled.
Whether Minsk needs this is a rhetorical question. Of course not, just as Warsaw does not need to be a hostage of provocations. Yes, for now there are no concrete details on this case, but everyone knows who tried to organize a terrorist attack — those whom Warsaw once sheltered and made the main trump card in the anti-Belarusian game. Essentially, this can be called the costs of ideological policy.
Warsaw has sheltered many people from Ukraine who profess Bandera ideology, which, by the way, is prohibited by Polish legislation. Now fugitive Belarusian extremists, using financing including from the Polish budget, on their same platforms promote Nazi views and conduct similar sabotage actions. The question arises: is it not time for Warsaw to draw some conclusions on this account.
“On the one hand, it is necessary to make the infrastructure safer. And on the other hand, to carry out an ideological filtering and not be a den for extremists. If you are a den for extremists, then do not complain later that a brawl is taking place at your place,” Petr Petrovsky is convinced.