The direct perpetrators of the arson attack on the Marywilska 44 Shopping Center in Warsaw have still not been identified, the National Prosecutor’s Office has officially admitted. In doing so, it also confirmed yet another failure in this case. “In Donald Tusk’s view, the Polish state has examined everything and done what was necessary. The problem is that it has not apprehended the arsonists,” assessed Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk on Republika.
On October 24, 2025, the National Prosecutor’s Office published a statement regarding a conviction of three individuals. The communiqué stated that on May 18, 2025, the Regional Court in Warsaw sentenced three Ukrainian citizens—P.T., S.R., and V.Y.—to cumulative prison terms of 5 years and 6 months, 2 years and 6 months, and 1 year and 4 months respectively, for participation in an organized criminal group operating in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, and Russia. The group’s aim was to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism, namely arson attacks on large-scale facilities located within EU member states (Article 258 § 2 of the Criminal Code).
Under this provision, the perpetrators could receive a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum of ten years.
The indictment filed by the prosecution with the Regional Court in Warsaw—by the Masovian Out-of-Town Division of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption—did not accuse suspects P.T., S.R., and V.Y. of committing an offense under Article 130 § 7 of the Criminal Code.
This has been confirmed by the National Prosecutor’s Office both in its response to questions from Niezalezna.pl and in its reply to an interpellation submitted by a group of Law and Justice (PiS) MPs on December 4.
Article 130 § 7 concerns acts of sabotage and terrorist offenses committed against the Republic of Poland jointly and in agreement with others, on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. It carries a penalty of imprisonment for no less than ten years or life imprisonment. The amendment to the Criminal Code tightening penalties for espionage entered into force in 2023.
The prosecution undermines the December 13 coalition’s narrative
What did the National Prosecutor’s Office state? “In the course of the preparatory proceedings, the direct perpetrators of the arson attack on the Marywilska 44 Shopping Center in Warsaw were not identified.”
The fire at the Marywilska 44 Shopping Center in Warsaw broke out on May 12, 2024. The number of traders affected by the fire and their employees is estimated at around 2,000 people.
“We now know for certain that the massive fire on Marywilska was the result of an arson attack commissioned by Russian services. The actions were coordinated by a person staying in Russia. Some of the perpetrators are already in custody, the rest have been identified and are being sought. We will catch them all!” Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media at the time.
It now turns out that this did not happen at all. The main culprits behind the arson remain without charges.
“Tusk tries to enchant reality”
The issue was discussed today on a program hosted by editor Michał Rachoń on Republika.
“At least since May, the prime minister, the spokesperson for the minister-coordinator, and the minister-coordinator of the special services have been keeping us convinced that Polish services had captured the perpetrators of the fire at the Marywilska hall, who were acting on behalf of Russian intelligence. Meanwhile, the response from the National Prosecutor’s Office shows that the individuals who were detained were convicted for offenses related to sabotage activities, but… the actual arsonists were not caught. How do you assess this?” the journalist asked his political guest.
“This reminds me a bit of a joke: if you sum up this situation in one word—good; in two words—not good. It is somewhat the case that Donald Tusk, at this superficial level, very often tries to enchant reality. He often presents it in a form that is palatable to public opinion. But it only takes a bit of digging deeper, and it turns out that beneath the surface a completely different picture immediately emerges. The same happened now with this hybrid attack on the railway…,” commented Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk of Law and Justice.
As he recalled: “Donald Tusk came to the Sejm with a very serious expression and said he had a very important matter to communicate. He said that the Polish state—quoting a classic—had passed the test. He said the Polish state knows who is behind this attack, just a few days after it occurred. It was a lengthy explanation of how quickly the services had determined everything. Finally, at the end, he said that the perpetrators had left Polish territory. So the Polish state knows who is behind the attack, and at the same time allowed those individuals to escape abroad.”
And as he added, “it is somewhat the same here. In Donald Tusk’s view, the Polish state examined everything and did what was necessary. The problem, however, is that it did not apprehend the perpetrators of the arson.”