Russian ice hockey player Maxim Sergeyev was convicted by a Polish court on Dec. 16 on charges of espionage and sentenced to nearly three years in prison.
Sergeyev, who previously played on the OKS Zagliebie Sosnowiec professional ice hockey team in the second division of Poland's junior league, was arrested in June 2023, the Russian independent media outlet Meduza reported.
Authorities said that Sergeyev, 21, spied on and took photos of Polish and NATO military sites, including a military equipment factory. After being recruited by a Russian intelligence official on Telegram, Sergeyev also posted pro-Russian "political content" on social media, writing, among other things, that the war in Ukraine "does not concern Poles."
Sergeyev received a small payment for the content through cryptocurrency transfers.
Prosecutors also said that Sergeyev later joined a 16-person Russian cell with the intention of sabotaging a train carrying weapons and humanitarian aid to Ukraine in exchange for 10,000 euros ($10,380).
Sergeyev plead guilty to the charges, and will be deported back to Russia in May 2025 once his 2 year and 11 month sentence, which he is currently serving in Lublin, is up.
Several European countries have in recent months reported numerous cases of espionage and sabotage suspected of being carried out on the behest of Russia.
Alleged Russian spy rings have been discovered in countries including Ukraine, the U.K., and Slovenia.
Separately, it was revealed in May that Russia is recruiting violent right-wing extremists to carry out sabotage attacks in Europe and the U.K., raising concerns among intelligence chiefs.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
