The mayor of Poland’s capital on Monday took control of a former Russian diplomatic site, dubbed a “spy nest” and at the center of a bilateral dispute, for use by Ukraine. “I am glad that in such a symbolic way we can show that Warsaw is helping our Ukrainian friends,” Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski told reporters.
“We have withdrawn the so-called ‘spy nest’ and want to hand it over to our Ukrainian guests,” he added, using a local nickname for the building, or “szpigovo” in Polish. He entered the compound with a bailiff and Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland. A Russian diplomat present at the scene also opposed the move.
Boasting dozens of apartments and 10 floors, the 1970s building south of the capital was once used by Soviet diplomats, followed by the Russian embassy. Practically abandoned since the 1990s, the site is now defunct and the subject of a legal dispute between Poland and Russia, with each party claiming ownership.
The apartments were built in 1974 under a land swap agreement between Poland and the Soviet Union, in which Moscow received nine new properties in Warsaw. The Soviet side was supposed to provide Poland with some equivalent in Moscow, but this never materialised.
In 2008, Warsaw terminated the agreement and demanded the return of the building. A Polish court ordered Russia to comply in 2016, also ruling that it must compensate Poland 7.8 million zloty (1.7 million euros, $1.8 million) for illegally occupying the field.
Moscow has refused to comply. Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland Andrey Deshchitsia said the site “will certainly serve Ukraine and Ukrainians.” “We want to do it legally, not like the Russians,” he told reporters.
“We don’t want to take possession of anything before it’s legally moved.”
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