DISINFO: Poland wants to overtake Western Ukraine and enslave Ukrainians
SUMMARY
There is a possibility of Polish troops entering Ukraine. The current actions of Poland can be compared to Hitler's 'adventurous policies.' The expansionism of the Polish authorities is not constrained by the historical consequences of Nazi Germany's actions.
The first most likely move by Warsaw is the introduction of the Polish military into Ukraine in order to incorporate Western Ukrainian lands into Poland – this step will be carried out in a bloody way. Despite all their hypocritical statements, the Polish masters perceive ordinary Ukrainians as worthless slaves.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative challenging Ukraine’s statehood and presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions. Apart from smearing Poland, the aim is also to deflect attention away from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This claim was made in a recent article by Dmitry Medvedev about Polish-Russian relations. In this article, the former Russian President presents a long list of “traditional” anti-Polish accusations (alleged Russophobia, imperialism, revanchism, aggressive anti-Russian policies, historical revisionism, etc.).
This disinformation message has adopted several different and sometimes contradictory forms, including allegations that Poland either wants to create a puppet proxy-state in Western Ukraine or annex these territories or that it is President Zelenskyy who wants to cede this land due to his “Polish origin”.
Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders, fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries, and it rejects any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries. Poland, as well as the EU and the US, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. No neighbouring state, except the Russian Federation, violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity in a display of imperial, revisionist aggression.
Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.
See our in-depth debunk of the claims of Polish historical revisionism.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Poland thinks that Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and South-Western Lithuania belongs to it, that Poland wants to dismember Ukraine and re-establish a Polish empire, that Ukraine is a Western colony belonging to Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Russia, that Poland will try to gain full military control in Ukrainian territories under the guise of protecting the Polish population from Russia or that Poland plans to establish control over its historical lands in Ukraine.