The presence of Prussian and Imperial Russian garrisons on Polish soil has been almost continuous following the Second Partition of Poland of 1793.

The foreign occupation forces have ontributed both to the economic collapse of the already-weakened state and to the growing radicalization of the population of Warsaw.

Foreign influence at the Polish court, often embodied by Russian ambassador Nikolai Repnin, has been strong for many years; during the partitions of Poland it has started to influence the Polish government and szlachta (nobility), and the entire people.

After losing the Polish–Russian War of 1792, the Permanent Council had been pressured by Russia to enact an army reform, in which the Polish Army was reduced by half, and the demobilized soldiers conscripted into the Russian and Prussian armies.

This move had been secretly opposed by many officers and the arms and supplies of disbanded units had been stored in warehouses in Warsaw.

Upon receiving news of Kościuszko's proclamation in Kraków (March 24) and his subsequent victory at Racławice (April 4), tension in Warsaw has grown rapidly.

Polish king Stanisław August Poniatowski is opposed to Kościuszko's uprising, and with the Permanent Council had issued a declaration condemning it on 2 April.

The King has dispatched Piotr Ożarowski, who as Grand Hetman of the Crown is the second-highest military commander after the king, and the Marshal of the Permanent Council, Józef Ankwicz, to Iosif Igelström, Russian ambassador and commander of all Russian occupation forces in Poland, with a proposal to evacuate both the Russian troops and Polish troops loyal to the King to a military encampment at Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki.