DISINFO: Imperialist Poland wants to annex Western Ukraine
SUMMARY
The territory of Ukraine looks like a very tasty bite for Warsaw. The Polish television shows the map of the partition of this unfortunate country, where a number of western regions are incorporated into Poland. It is clear that this incorporation cannot be implemented in a legal way without strong condemnation from Ukraine and other European neighbours. Warsaw has a long-proven method to justify its inappropriate actions – it masterfully uses anti-Russian rhetoric, turning it into hysteria. For centuries, the Polish elite blamed Russia for all possible problems. The Russian-Polish relations have been poisoned for a long time by the imperial longing of a part of the Polish elites.
RESPONSE
Recurring narrative presenting Poland as an aggressive, Russophobic state with imperial ambitions.
The claim that Poland wants to annex Western Ukraine is ungrounded. Poland fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, it does not have any territorial claims against its neighbours and it rejects any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries. Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.
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.
Instead, Poland is supporting Ukrainian refugees coming to Poland; it is allowing millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war access to the labour market and to health and social benefits. Moreover Poland is also activly supporting Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.
See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Poles are stoking nationalist sentiment in Ukraine in order to annex Lviv, that Poland thinks that Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and South-Western Lithuania belong to them, and Poland wants to dismember Ukraine and re-establish a Polish empire.