Poland Seizing Russian Funds Over 'Terrorist' Activity Accusation

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Russia should be deemed a "terrorist state" on Thursday, marking one month since the invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia is indeed terrorizing Ukraine," he said during a press conference before leaving to meet with European Union leaders in Brussels, Belgium.

The Polish prime minister explained that Russian forces are "terrorizing the civilian population, killing innocent women, children and elderly people," adding, "we should indeed" recognize Russia as a "terrorist" state, Radio Poland reported.

According to Morawiecki, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also urged acknowledging Russia as a terrorist country, The First News said.

Russia threatened to take action against Poland after the country blocked bank accounts belonging to the Russian embassy in Warsaw, according to Reuters.

Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreyev told Russia's Channel One TV, per TASS news agency, that Poland's decision to block the embassy's bank accounts was associated with "possible money laundering and financing of terrorism."

"Our accounts were frozen according to a decision by the Finance Ministry, and then by a decision from the Polish prosecutor on the basis that the money from our accounts could allegedly be used to launder illegally obtained funds or to finance terrorism," Andreyev said.

Poland also expelled 45 Russian diplomats from its grounds, whom Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński called "spies pretending to be diplomats."

"With full consistency and determination, we are breaking up the agents of the Russian secret services in our country," he tweeted on Wednesday. In response, Russia threatened Thursday to retaliate, as it accused Poland of destroying bilateral relations.

"[The expulsions of diplomats is] a conscious step towards the final destruction of bilateral relations, the dismantling of which our Polish 'partners' have been systematically carrying out for a long time," the Russian Foreign Ministry told Reuters.

"Russia will not leave this hostile attack without a response, which will make Polish provocateurs think and will hurt them," it added.

Andreyev also made similar remarks on Wednesday as he stressed that Russia is "entitled to make its own decisions on reciprocal steps," TASS reported. Andreyev was also asked if those steps include expelling Polish diplomats from Russia, to which he responded, "of course."

Morawiecki told reporters on Thursday that Poland will push for "further sanctions" against Russia, according to Radio Poland. He also warned that Putin will expand his offensive if Western nations don't continue the "economic combat" against Russia, which he called a "totalitarian state." He said current sanctions against Russia were "unprecedented, far-reaching, but definitely insufficient."

"A year or two from now ... he will go for Helsinki, Vilnius, Warsaw, Bucharest, maybe Berlin, too," Morawiecki added.

Newsweek contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment and will update the story after receiving a response.