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'Disinformation campaign against Poland': statement

06.05.2022 13:00
Statement by Stanisław Żaryn, spokesman for Poland’s security services:
Stanisław Żaryn, director of the National Security Department at the Polish Prime Ministers Office and a spokesman for Polands security services.
Stanisław Żaryn, director of the National Security Department at the Polish Prime Minister’s Office and a spokesman for Poland’s security services.Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

Russian propaganda runs a multi-faceted campaign against Poland. The aim of it is to show that the Polish government has aggressive plans towards Ukraine and is preparing an attack on its territory.

A Ukrainian politician from a pro-Russian party continues to spread insinuations against Poland, while attacking president V. Zelensky. Ilya Kiva accuses Kiev and Warsaw of preparing for the annexation of western Ukraine by Poland. Kiva formulated his accusations in Telegram. He accused the authorities in Kiev of preparing for the creation of a new Ukrainian state with its capital in Lviv and then preparing a referendum to incorporate it into Poland.

Russian propaganda eagerly quotes the words of a Ukrainian politician, which are presented as proof of Poland's aggressive plans against Ukraine. At the same time, the propaganda materials remind of earlier Russian lies about Poland's plans to annex the western Ukraine.

Another of the propaganda messages - this time based on an interview with ‘American political scientist’ Rafael Ordukhanyan, argues that the annexation of western Ukraine is planned by Poland together with Romania. In the interview, the propagandist accuses the West of using warfare as a pretext for the planned annexation of part of Ukraine. He also writes that Ukrainians do not oppose these plans.

Lies about plans to annex western Ukraine are also used by Russian propaganda to intimidate Poles. Subsequent propaganda texts indicate that Poland, by launching an attack on Ukraine, will expose itself to Russian retaliation. Exercises of NATO countries, which have just begun in Poland, are falsely presented in the context of the implementation of Poland's alleged plans to attack Ukraine. At the same time, Kremlin propaganda threatens with a counter-attack which will ‘destroy Poland’.

A false document, presented as an order signed by a Polish general, is also used for actions against Poland. The material, created for the needs of Russian propaganda, is presented as evidence of Polish preparations for an attack on Ukraine. The falsified material is widely reported by Russian propaganda, which considered it as evidence of preparations for Polish aggression against Ukraine. The material on this topic refers to ‘media reports’ that have previously written about Poland’s alleged plans.

The propaganda content also recalls statements by, among others, N. Patrushev and S. Naryshkin, who spread insinuations about Poland's alleged plan to attack Ukraine.

The propaganda message indicates that Russia is conducting a multi-pronged smear campaign against Poland, aimed at convincing the public that the Polish government has aggressive plans against Ukraine. Such actions are calculated to provoke hostility between Poland and Ukraine, as well as to depreciate Poland's image in the eyes of international opinion. The Kremlin is trying to show that Poland is a country preparing an invasion of Ukraine.

The various plots used to denigrate Poland suggest that we are dealing with a coordinated campaign against Poland, which has direct ties to Russia's war against Ukraine.

Stanisław Żaryn

Spokesperson of the Minister-Special Services Coordinator

gov.pl