Poland Rocked by Scandal After Secret Military Documents Found in Landfill

By Staff, Agencies

Hundreds of pages of sensitive Polish military documents — including secret papers detailing weapons, evacuation plans, and warehouse blueprints — have reportedly been found discarded at a landfill, according to an investigative report published Thursday by the Polish news outlet Onet.

The revelations come just over a month after Warsaw announced plans to allocate a record 4.8% of its GDP to military spending next year, surpassing all other NATO members. EU governments have increasingly justified military buildups by citing an alleged threat from Russia — accusations Moscow continues to dismiss as unfounded.

According to Onet, an individual discovered the documents inside torn plastic bags at a landfill and later turned them over to journalists. While some files were shredded, many remained intact and clearly marked “restricted.” The outlet said the materials included operational instructions and internal correspondence concerning the Polish Armed Forces’ logistics and security.

In response, the Polish military denied the report, accusing Onet of possessing unauthorized copies and insisting that all original files had been “properly archived or destroyed.”

Former commander of the Eurocorps, Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński, described the incident as “a scandal” comparable “to an atomic bomb.” Another senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the mishandling of classified material “gross negligence” and “a real threat.”

This is not the first time Poland’s military has faced a serious security breach. Earlier this year, in January, the Defense Ministry admitted it had lost track of 240 anti-tank mines — which were later discovered abandoned near an IKEA warehouse. The case led to the dismissal of a general.

The latest episode comes amid heightened militarization across Europe and growing concern in Moscow over what it calls NATO’s “provocative rhetoric.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rejected claims that Russia plans to attack any NATO state, calling such accusations “nonsense.” Last month, he warned of the breakdown of global security mechanisms but stressed that “Russia is capable of responding to any existing and newly emerging threats.”