Polish Foreign Ministry issues advisory against travelling to Russia

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Polish citizens against travelling to the Russian Federation because of the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Russian authorities recognising Poland as a hostile state. The advisory also extends to business travel and pressing family matters.

“We stress that direct flight connections between Poland have been suspended and the possibilities to travel to/from Poland are very limited, the nonexistent or very limited access to financial means on Polish accounts with (e.g. the possibility to used Polish ATM/credit cards), and the actions by that local [security] services, such as arbitrary arrests, phone searches, and the potential prevention from leaving Russian territory in case of possessing a double citizenship,” informs the Foreign Ministry.

The advisory also points to the vastly reduced staff of Polish diplomatic and consular posts in Russia, limiting their ability to lend Polish citizens consular assistance in the case of any trouble.

“In case of a drastic deterioration of the security situation, the closure of borders or other unforeseen circumstances, evacuation may prove significantly impeded or even impossible. We recommend following the announcements published on the website of the Ministry and the websites of Polish posts in Russia and reporting one’s place of stay in the Odyseusz system. We recommend that the citizens of the Republic of Poland who remain on the territory of the Russian Federation leave its territory using the available commercial and private means,” stresses the Polish Foreign Ministry.