Warsaw, Poland — Poland’s leadership has publicly linked a significant late-December cyberattack on its electrical grid to groups with ties to Russian intelligence, marking another flashpoint in ongoing cyber tensions in Eastern Europe.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters on Thursday, January 15, 2026 that available evidence strongly points to cyber actors connected to Russian secret services as responsible for the assault on Poland’s energy network. The incident, one of the most serious digital breaches targeting Polish critical infrastructure in years, was thwarted before causing major damage, government officials said.
Largest Attack in Years Targeted Power Infrastructure
Poland’s Energy Minister Milosz Motyka disclosed earlier this week that the country’s power system was subjected to an intense cyberattack in the last week of December 2025 — the biggest of its kind in recent memory. The offensive aimed at disrupting communications within the power grid but ultimately failed to compromise essential systems.
According to Tusk, the national defensive and cybersecurity systems worked effectively, preventing outages and ensuring no critical infrastructure was significantly affected. While the prime minister refrained from absolute accusations, he emphasized there is little doubt about where the attack’s inspiration originated.
Escalating Cyber Threats to National Security
This incident underscores growing concerns about digital threats to national security across Europe, particularly from state-linked hacker groups. Poland has previously reported a surge in cyber incursions targeting everything from water systems to energy networks, with officials saying Russian interest in destabilizing NATO member states’ systems has intensified.
Cybersecurity analysts say such attacks aim to test defensive capabilities and could presage more sophisticated campaigns in the future. The Polish government has vowed to reinforce its digital defenses and collaborate with international partners to counter similar threats going forward.
