In a key speech to parliament, Radosław Sikorski said that Poland and other European countries were experiencing acts of diversion and sabotage.
He pointed to incidents in which Russian drones violated Polish airspace, as well as arson attacks and an attempted act of terrorism on the railway network.
Those detained in connection with the incidents were acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service, he said.
“The goal of the enemy is to frighten, divide and turn different groups of Poles against each other, and to weaken trust in political authorities,” Sikorski told parliament.
“The Kremlin will not give up. It will test further boundaries," he added.
He added that "aggression in the information sphere," including fake news campaigns and online manipulation, has fuelled a sense of disorientation.
According to Poland’s Digital Affairs Ministry, the country faces between 2,000 and 3,000 cyberattacks each day. Most are successfully repelled, Sikorski said, but the scale of the threat is alarming.
He described a broad arsenal of hybrid tactics, including bot networks spreading falsehoods and hate speech, the use of artificial intelligence to create fabricated materials that mimic credible information, cryptocurrency financing for hybrid operations, and attacks on critical infrastructure.
He also warned of “useful idiots” who amplify dangerous falsehoods.
After Russian drones entered Polish airspace in September last year, a disinformation campaign reached 8 million Polish internet users in a single day, Sikorski said.
The perpetrators sought to shift blame onto Ukraine and NATO, he added.
Similar efforts followed an explosion on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line in November.
Sikorski, who also serves as a deputy prime minister, said that building societal resilience was essential.
“From the youngest to the oldest, the residents of Poland must be equipped with the knowledge of how to deal with dangers online,” he said.
Awareness of who is publishing information, for what purpose, and solidarity in countering disinformation are a “collective patriotic duty,” he told lawmakers.
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Source: TVP Info, PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Michał Owczarek.