Polish prosecutors said Tuesday that they had charged a Russian-born Ukrainian with spying on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services.

Poland has been a staunch ally of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and has frequently accused Moscow of espionage and sabotage attempts.

The NATO member is also a key transit point for Western arms heading to Ukraine since the conflict began.

Prosecutors said the 47-year-old man had gathered information on military installations in Poland.

He “pleaded guilty and gave explanations during which he described the ideological motives for his actions, which resulted from his ties to Russia”, prosecutor Przemyslaw Nowak said in a statement.

The man faces from five to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Since the start of the Russian invasion, 44 people — Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and Poles — have been detained in Poland on suspicions of espionage or sabotage, security services spokesman Jacek Dobrzynski posted Tuesday on X.