Russia intensifies incitement of anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland – Polish General Staff

The General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces has stated that, in the context of peace talks aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine, there has been an increase in psychological operations directed against Ukraine and being conducted on Polish territory.

Source: General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces on X (Twitter)

Details: The Polish military authorities noted that Moscow is carrying out operations aimed at putting pressure on Ukraine, designed to create an atmosphere of fear and a sense of threat supposedly linked to the presence of Ukrainians in Poland.

"Anti-Ukrainian sentiments are being stirred up in Poland," the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces said.

Quote: "These actions include physical incidents (arson attacks on Ukrainian cars, the removal of anti-war murals) and intensive narrative-based activity online on websites and accounts, promoting hatred towards Ukraine.

The rise in anti-Ukrainian sentiment is being observed in places where there are hubs providing assistance for the transfer of weapons or support for Ukraine's war effort (for example, Gdynia and Gdańsk)."

Details: In this context, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces noted that Russia is trying to exploit the topic of the Volyn tragedy. Moscow is also attempting to portray Ukrainians as a greater threat to Poland than Russia. [The Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy was a series of events that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish and Ukrainian populations in 1943 during World War II. It was part of a long-standing rivalry between Ukrainians and Poles in what is now Ukraine's west. Poland considers the Volyn tragedy a genocide of Poles – ed.]

The aim of directing negative emotions against Ukraine, the statement added, is to make Polish citizens, wishing to return to their comfort zone, exert pressure on the government to take decisions that contradict state policy.

The General Staff emphasised that acts of sabotage are part of coordinated operations by the Russian services intended to undermine support for Ukraine and to facilitate Russian aggression.

Previously: On Monday 3 November, Poland's Ministry of Defence dismissed claims circulating on social media alleging that Polish hospitals were giving priority to treating Ukrainian soldiers.

Background:

• Poland had previously warned against the spread of Russian disinformation about alleged drone incursions into its airspace in early September.
• The authorities had also cautioned against false reports about an alleged planned attack by Ukraine, responsibility for which Russia would seek to pin on Ukraine.

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