Polish authorities have escalated a long-running dispute with Russia over a former diplomatic property in Gdańsk.
Local media recently reported that utility services to the building had been terminated. This was later confirmed by Poland’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maciej Wewiór, in comments to Gazeta Wyborcza. The disconnection was carried out by public utility providers Energa and GPEC after months of unpaid bills.
In November, Poland had ordered the closure of the Gdańsk consulate in response to alleged acts of sabotage targeting railway infrastructure, which Polish authorities attributed to operatives acting on behalf of Russia. This move followed earlier closures of other Russian consulates in Poland under similar suspicions.
However, despite the closure order, Russian authorities have refused to return control of the premises. Instead, Russia has maintained a minimal presence on-site: leaving a single staff member to guard the property and thus assert what it describes as its legal entitlement to the building.
Polish authorities, in response, argue that Russia has no valid legal basis to retain the property and are actively pursuing measures to reclaim it.
Polish land and mortgage registers demonstrate that the building is owned by the Polish State Treasury, which contradicts Moscow’s insistence that its rights derive from a post–World War II agreement. Gdańsk officials have described Russia’s stance as “incomprehensible,” emphasizing that available documentation does not support Moscow’s claims of ownership or usage rights.
In response, the city’s deputy mayor, Emilia Lodzińska, announced that legal action would be initiated to recover the property. Poland’s foreign ministry has submitting a request to prosecutors to begin formal proceedings aimed at forcing the surrender of the building.
Legal experts point out that a final court ruling could take years. As a result, local authorities are pursuing parallel enforcement actions related to financial liabilities. These stem from a March 2025 court ruling requiring Russia to pay for its use of the property. Enforcement proceedings were launched last year to execute that judgment. According to estimates by Gdańsk officials, unpaid fees for the period between 2013 and 2023 amount to approximately 5.5 million zloty (€1.3 million), with an additional 3 million zloty in accrued interest.
Russia continues to reject these claims, insisting it is entitled to use the building free of charge.
Since 2022, Polish authorities have taken similar actions against other disputed Russian properties. In Warsaw, municipal officials seized a former Russian diplomatic compound that had been the subject of a prolonged legal dispute. Although there were initial plans to repurpose the site for use by the Ukrainian community, the building’s poor condition rendered that option unfeasible. It is now slated for redevelopment into housing for municipal workers.
In 2023, Warsaw authorities took control of a former school used by the children of Russian diplomats after Moscow refused to comply with a court order to vacate. Poland’s State Forests agency seized another property in 2022 under similar circumstances, citing unpaid rent and non-compliance with legal rulings.
