Poland’s Police Chief Commander Jaroslaw Szymczyk on Monday refused to resign following the explosion of a gift delivered by Ukrainian security services during a visit to the country and said he is a «victim».
Szymczyk has thus indicated that he is not responsible for what happened last week when the explosion was registered in police premises and has pointed out that he does not see «compelling reasons to submit his resignation». «Even so, I am aware that the decision rests with the Ministry of the Interior and the Prime Minister,» he said.
The Polish police chief explained that «it was not possible to know whether it was really a loaded weapon or just a gift» since «a grenade launcher is basically a closed tube». «I feel like a victim, not a perpetrator,» he insisted, before lamenting that «something worse could have happened».
Thus, he has warned of the speculation surrounding what happened and has said to be at the «full disposal of the Prosecutor’s office.» «If I am guilty of anything, it is of having trusted too much. But imagine not trusting the secret services with whom you work together. We do not accept dispatches and if we had to check them all we would go crazy,» he has maintained in an interview with the daily ‘Rzeczpospolita’.
«Traditionally we give each other gifts at the end of meetings. I gave the Ukrainian side a wallet, a pen and a bottle of Polish alcohol, something modest. They gave me a grenade launcher, which they said was empty and safe. In theory it had been converted into a speaker that could be used with Bluetooth,» he explained.
That’s why he crossed the Polish border without declaring that he had the gift because, as he pointed out, «we didn’t consider it to be weaponry» but empty grenade launcher tubes. «When we returned to work on December 14, the two tubes were on the floor blocking the entrance to the office. I took off my coat and wanted to move them. That’s when there was a loud explosion,» he said.
The Polish authorities have assured that they will wait for the results of the investigation into the incident to determine what action to take. A total of three people were injured in the explosion.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
