Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski told parliament on 19 November that the government has ordered the immediate closure of Russia’s final remaining consulate in Gdańsk. The move comes just four days after an explosive device blew a ¾-metre crater into the strategic Warsaw–Lublin–Chełm rail corridor, a line heavily used for both passenger services and the shipment of NATO aid to neighbouring Ukraine. Investigators say the attack, which was averted at the last second when a PKP Intercity driver spotted track damage and executed an emergency stop, carried a clear intention to cause mass casualties.
Warsaw has already expelled dozens of Russian diplomats since 2022, but the Gdańsk post had continued to provide visa and passport services to Russian nationals, handle adoptions and issue powers of attorney for the sizeable Russian business community clustered around the Tri-City ports. Its closure leaves Russia with only its embassy in Warsaw and effectively forces Russian residents and travellers to route all paperwork through Moscow or Berlin, adding weeks to processing times and raising travel costs.
![Poland shuts Russia’s last consulate in Gdańsk after ‘state-terror’ rail blast]()
Sikorski said the decision was taken under Article 11 of the Vienna Convention, citing a “grave breach of basic diplomatic norms” and accusing Moscow of sponsoring terrorism on Polish soil. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the charge and threatened “reciprocal measures”, signalling that Polish corporate executives in Russia may soon face tighter immigration scrutiny and difficulties renewing business visas.
For multinational firms operating in Poland the fallout is immediate: Russian staff and their dependants will need to travel to the embassy in Warsaw (often a two-day round trip from the Baltic coast) for even routine notarial acts, while Polish employers must brace for longer lead-times when inviting Russian engineers or technicians. Travel-management companies are advising clients to shift to electronic apostilles where possible and to add at least ten extra working days to any visa-dependent project timelines.
The consulate’s closure also eliminates an emergency-assistance channel for some 85 000 Russian citizens who crossed the Polish border in the first three quarters of 2025, raising questions about how humanitarian and medical repatriations will be handled if diplomatic relations deteriorate further.
Warsaw has already expelled dozens of Russian diplomats since 2022, but the Gdańsk post had continued to provide visa and passport services to Russian nationals, handle adoptions and issue powers of attorney for the sizeable Russian business community clustered around the Tri-City ports. Its closure leaves Russia with only its embassy in Warsaw and effectively forces Russian residents and travellers to route all paperwork through Moscow or Berlin, adding weeks to processing times and raising travel costs.
Sikorski said the decision was taken under Article 11 of the Vienna Convention, citing a “grave breach of basic diplomatic norms” and accusing Moscow of sponsoring terrorism on Polish soil. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the charge and threatened “reciprocal measures”, signalling that Polish corporate executives in Russia may soon face tighter immigration scrutiny and difficulties renewing business visas.
For multinational firms operating in Poland the fallout is immediate: Russian staff and their dependants will need to travel to the embassy in Warsaw (often a two-day round trip from the Baltic coast) for even routine notarial acts, while Polish employers must brace for longer lead-times when inviting Russian engineers or technicians. Travel-management companies are advising clients to shift to electronic apostilles where possible and to add at least ten extra working days to any visa-dependent project timelines.
The consulate’s closure also eliminates an emergency-assistance channel for some 85 000 Russian citizens who crossed the Polish border in the first three quarters of 2025, raising questions about how humanitarian and medical repatriations will be handled if diplomatic relations deteriorate further.
