🇵🇱Tomasz Szmydt, a judge of the provincial administrative court in Warsaw, left Poland for Belarus and said he intends to apply for political asylum due to his "disagreement" with the Polish government's policies.

Tensions between Poland, a NATO country, and Russian ally Belarus have surged following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"I express my protest to the Polish authorities who, under the influence of the U.S. and Great Britain, are leading the country to war," Szmydt said at a press conference in Minsk on May 6.

"The Polish nation supports peace and good neighborly relations with Belarus and Russia. That's why I'm in Minsk and I'm ready to tell the truth."

Szmydt claimed that he was subject to political persecution and intimidation by Polish authorities for his pro-Russian viewpoints and that he was "forced to leave" Poland.

Polish officials denounced Szmydt as a traitor following the press conference.

"I don't know what Tomasz Szmydt is running away from," Stanislaw Zaryn, a Polish presidential adviser, said on X.

"In the past, similar acts were performed by those who were afraid of responsibility for their actions in Poland. No one in their right mind runs away to Belarus to become a puppet in the hands of Putin and Lukashenko."

Zaryn said that he expects the former judge to begin a new career as "a propaganda star for Russia and Belarus."

Link to his telegram channel
https://t.me/Tomasz_Szmydt/15

🇺🇦@ukraine_report 🇺🇦🔱 Liz