In a dramatic turn that has further strained already tense relations between Belarus and Poland, Belarusian authorities announced on September 4, 2025, the detention of a Polish Carmelite monk, Grzegorz Gaweł, on charges of espionage. The incident, which unfolded in the town of Lepel, northwest of Minsk, has prompted strong denials and accusations of political provocation from Warsaw, while raising concerns across Europe about the potential for escalating confrontation at NATO’s eastern frontier.
According to Belarusian state broadcaster Belarus 1, Gaweł, a 27-year-old monk from Kraków, was apprehended after allegedly obtaining sensitive documents related to the imminent Zapad-2025 joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises. The Zapad drills, scheduled to commence on September 12, are expected to involve more than 13,000 troops and feature the planned use of Russian nuclear weapons and the hypersonic Oreshnik missile, which Moscow claims can strike any European target. Belarus has recently announced it is expecting deliveries of the Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Footage aired by Belarus 1 showed Gaweł—identified in some outlets as Grzegorz G.—handing over a document marked "secret" to uniformed officers. The video also depicted authorities confiscating cash in multiple currencies, a SIM card registered under another name, and an eight-page printout of confidential material on the upcoming military drills. Belarusian state television further claimed that Gaweł had attempted to recruit a Belarusian citizen via social media, offering monthly payments and gifts such as coffee and chocolate in exchange for cooperation with Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW). Both Gaweł and the Belarusian citizen are now in custody, with Gaweł facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
Belarusian officials wasted no time in publicizing the arrest. State television not only broadcast the arrest but also highlighted the discovery of religious objects—a rosary and other items—on Gaweł's person, perhaps to underscore his monastic identity. The footage, which included Gaweł speaking in Polish and apparently confirming the documents’ connection to the Zapad exercises, was quickly disseminated through official channels. The Belarusian Defense Ministry has stated that the upcoming drills will involve the “planned use” of Russian nuclear weapons, a detail that has drawn particular attention from Western observers given Belarus’s proximity to NATO states Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as its shared border with Ukraine.
The Belarusian government’s actions did not stop at the arrest. On September 5, Minsk summoned the Polish chargé d’affaires, demanding that Warsaw refrain from “actions that damage Belarus’ national security.” Officials insisted that the monk’s activities constituted a serious threat, with state media claiming he had “collected information on military facilities on behalf of Poland’s Internal Security Agency.”
Poland, for its part, has vehemently rejected the allegations, characterizing the episode as an orchestrated stunt by the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for Poland’s special services, dismissed the charges as “another provocation by Lukashenko’s regime,” stating on X (formerly Twitter), “Polish special services do not use monks to gather information on military maneuvers.” The Polish government has consistently denied that it employs clergy for espionage, emphasizing that the monk was in Belarus to visit a friend who is a priest living and working in the country.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed these sentiments, calling the Belarusian accusations “absurd” and vowing that Poland would not accept “this type of provocation or nonsense from the Belarusian side.” Tusk warned that Warsaw is “preparing retaliatory measures” if the situation does not change, and confirmed that diplomatic and legal efforts are underway to assist the detained citizen. “We know what kind of regime this is, we know what to expect from it,” added Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, as quoted by Rzeczpospolita. “We’ve already completed government consultations [on this incident]. I think the matter will not go unanswered.”
The Polish embassy in Minsk has pledged to “take all diplomatic and legal measures to assist and support the Polish citizen detained by the Belarusian services,” according to foreign ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński. The Polish Carmelite order, referenced in social media posts, has identified Gaweł as one of its monks, but has not commented publicly on the espionage allegations.
This latest episode is unfolding against a backdrop of deepening animosity between the two neighbors. Relations have been fraught for years, exacerbated by Belarus’s support for Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing repression of dissidents, including members of the country’s ethnic Polish minority. Belarus has frequently targeted Polish community leaders, most notably Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and activist who has now served five years of an eight-year sentence on charges widely regarded as politically motivated.
The border region has also become a flashpoint for broader geopolitical tensions. Belarus has been accused of engineering a migrant crisis by encouraging and assisting tens of thousands of people—mainly from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa—to cross into the European Union via Poland. Meanwhile, Poland has welcomed large numbers of Belarusian refugees, including exiled opposition leaders, particularly in the wake of the mass protests that followed Belarus’s contested 2020 presidential election.
The spy drama comes just months after a Belarusian man was jailed in Poland for two years for carrying out espionage on behalf of Minsk, reportedly by surveilling a military airport. The same court fined a Polish national for failing to alert authorities to the Belarusian’s activities, underscoring the ongoing tit-for-tat nature of intelligence operations on both sides of the border.
For many observers, the timing of the monk’s arrest—so close to the start of the Zapad-2025 exercises—raises questions about Belarus’s motives. Western analysts and Polish officials alike see the incident as part of a broader pattern of provocations designed to intimidate Poland and send a message to NATO. The highly publicized arrest, complete with televised confessions and dramatic footage, fits the Lukashenko government’s playbook of leveraging security incidents for domestic and international effect.
As the Zapad drills approach, the eyes of Europe are fixed on the region. The exercises, involving thousands of troops and advanced weaponry, are already a source of anxiety for NATO and neighboring countries. The arrest of a Polish monk on espionage charges, whether a genuine security breach or a manufactured provocation, has only heightened the sense of unease.
With both sides digging in—Belarus demanding an end to what it calls hostile actions, and Poland promising diplomatic and possibly retaliatory moves—the standoff shows little sign of abating. The fate of Grzegorz Gaweł hangs in the balance, a symbol of the broader struggle for influence, security, and national pride playing out along one of Europe’s most volatile frontiers.
