Poland freed Russian agent Paweł Rubcov as part of the exchange of prisoners – media stay silent

The Russian portal Insider reported on Thursday that Poland had freed Paweł Rubcov, besides known as Pablo Gonzalez, who was detained in 2022 in Przemyśl. Rubcow was 1 of 26 people mentioned between Russia and the West.

Background of detention and arrest

Pawło Rubcow, who was in the Russian passport as Paweł Rubcow, was detained in Przemyśl 4 days after the Russian aggression began on Ukraine, on 28 February 2022. He introduced himself as a journalist, but Polish services identified him as a GRU agent. According to the Minister of peculiar Services, Rubcow was arrested on suspicion of espionage, as confirmed by the paper “Rzeczpospolita”. He was charged with Art. 130 par. 1 of the Criminal Code, for which he is facing imprisonment for up to 10 years.

Double identity

Rubcow held 2 passports: Russian and Spanish. In his Spanish passport, he was listed as Pablo Gonzalez. He was born in the USSR, and his mother, the daughter of the Spaniards who came to the USSR in the 1930s, returned to Spain in the 1980s and settled in Catalonia. His father was Alexey Rubcow, an crucial media manager of RBC holding since the late 1990s.

Spy activities and contacts

Rubcow, before being detained, watched the environment of Russian opponents. In 2016, he established a relation with Zanna Niemcowa, daughter of murdered opposition leader Boris Niemcowa. He maintained contacts with the German Freedom Foundation, an organization founded by the German Zanna. According to the origin in the foundation, Rubcow participated in various events of the foundation and collected information about participants of summertime journalism school, peculiarly curious in people from the US and Ukraine.

Charges and investigation

According to Agientcy – the Russian portal – Rubcow described his contacts in reports that were written in a manner characteristic of reports to superiors. It is unclear to whom precisely these reports were directed. He found data carriers containing letters from Boris Niemcow, possibly copied from his daughter.

Co-founder of the German Foundation, Ig Szorin, confirmed that Rubcow had contacted the organization's authorities and participated in various events, but had no access to papers or confidential data. It was noted that a writer of a tiny Basque paper made besides many trips, and his political convictions were not favorable to the Russian opposition.

Reactions and Awards

The case of Rubcov-Gonzalez detention was widely commented on by Spanish media. The “FreePabloGonzalez” organization represented by Maribel Martinez in 2023 was awarded the Freedom of Word Award by the Union of Journalists of Valencia (UPV). In February 2024 the head of the Spanish MFA, Jose Manuel Albares, demanded an immediate public trial of Gonzalez and the presentation of evidence.

Expert comments

In a conversation with PAP in May 2023, the Spanish infantry general at rest, Vicente Diaz de Villegas, stressed that the arrest of Rubcov-Gonzalez could not have taken place if the Polish services had no strong evidence against the detainee.

Social media activities

On his Instagram profile, Pablo Gonzalez published propaganda posts on the Polish-Belarusian border and the "non-humane" treatment of illegal immigrants and promoting the alleged Women's Strike.

Summary

The release of Paweł Rubcov as part of the exchange of prisoners between Russia and the West caused controversy and broad comments both in Poland and abroad. This case highlights the complexity of global relations and the challenges of intelligence activities during armed conflicts.