Poland’s top police officer is hospitalised after gift he received in Ukraine explodes

Poland’s top police officer has been hospitalised after a gift he received while visiting emergency crews in Ukraine exploded on his return to headquarters in Warsaw. 

Jaroslaw Szymczyk, Commander in Chief of the Polish police, received the gift from one of the heads of the Ukrainian emergency services during a visit to the country from December 11 to 12. 

It was not immediately clear what the present was.  

Poland’s interior ministry today reported the attack, which took place on Wednesday.

Poland’s top police officer Jaroslaw Szymczyk has been hospitalised after a gift he received while visiting emergency crews in Ukraine exploded (pictured on July 27)

In a statement, the ministry said: ‘As a result of the explosion, the Commander suffered minor injuries and has been in the hospital for observation since yesterday.’

The ministry said a civilian employee at police headquarters was also injured but did not need to be hospitalised.

Polish media earlier reported that an explosion at police headquarters had injured Szymczyk and damaged the ceiling in the building.

‘The Polish side asked the Ukrainian side to provide relevant explanations,’ the ministry said.

The explosion at the police headquarters in Warsaw damaged the ceiling in the building, according to Polish media (file image)

The commander in chief of the Polish police received the gift from one of the heads of the Ukrainian emergency services (file image)

It comes after a series of letter bombs were sent to targets in Spain, including the Ukrainian embassy, and several Ukrainian embassies abroad received ‘bloody packages’ containing animal eyes earlier this month. 

The packages, soaked in a liquid with a distinctive colour and smell, were sent to Kyiv’s embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Austria, spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

Six letter bombs were sent to high-profile targets across Spain, including the Ukrainian embassy and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. 

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the bloodied packages discovered in Kyiv’s embassies across Europe was a ‘well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation’. He appeared to blame Russia for sending the packages. 

There was no immediate reply from Ukraine’s SBU security service to a request for comment on the incident.