Hundreds of pages of sensitive Polish military documents, including secret papers on weapons, evacuations, and warehouse blueprints, were reportedly found discarded at a landfill, according to an investigation published Thursday by Onet.
The incident comes just over a month after Warsaw pledged to outspend all other NATO states, allocating 4.8% of GDP to its military next year amid growing concerns about a potential threat from Russia—claims Moscow has repeatedly dismissed.
The Polish military denied the report, accusing Onet of holding unauthorized copies of the documents and insisting the originals were properly archived or destroyed. Onet said an individual discovered the documents in torn plastic bags at a landfill, with many papers intact and marked “restricted,” despite some being shredded.
Describing the leak as “a scandal” on the level of “an atomic bomb,” former Eurocorps commander Lieutenant General Jaroslaw Gromadzinski told Onet that such negligence poses a serious risk. Another anonymous official called the dumping “gross negligence” and a “real threat.”
This latest revelation follows previous military mishaps. In January, the Polish Defense Ministry lost track of 240 anti-tank mines, which were later found near an IKEA warehouse, prompting the dismissal of a general.
The leak also comes amid rising EU and NATO military buildups and heightened rhetoric, which have raised concerns in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed claims of Russian aggression toward the US-led military bloc as “nonsense,” while warning of risks to international security cooperation. He added that Russia remains capable of responding to both existing and emerging threats.
