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Polish officials ordered the closure of Russia’s consulate in Krakow on Monday after an investigation concluded that Moscow was responsible for a 2024 arson that destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski announced the closure on Monday and also remarked on the matter during a visit to the U.K. It came after the conclusion of a year-long investigation into a blaze that destroyed a shopping center with some 1,400 stores last year.
“This was a huge fire of a shopping mall in Warsaw in which, just by sheer luck, nobody was hurt. This is completely unacceptable,” Sikorski said. “So the Russian consulate will have to leave, and if these attacks continue, we’ll take further action.”
Russian officials have denied wrongdoing and condemned Poland’s decision in statements to the press.
“Our proposal, as they say, is on the table,” Putin said. “The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.”

Zelenskyy agreed to meet directly with Putin following urging from Trump.
The Russian leader said he does not rule out that Moscow and Kyiv will agree on “some new truces, a new ceasefire” during negotiations in Turkey, saying that the talks would be the first step toward a “sustainable” peace.
Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.