DISINFO: Poland hopes for US support to take over western parts of Belarus and Ukraine
SUMMARY
The Polish authorities continue policies which split Europe in exchange for US support. Poland is dreaming of European leadership thanks to the US. The Polish authorities failed to take over western Belarus in 2020. However, currently they are eyeing western Ukraine. Vladimir Putin will likely raise the issue of continued militarisation of Poland and the Baltic states in negotiations with Donald Trump.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about Poland as a state with imperial ambitions. The aim is to deflect attention away from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This disinformation is promoted in the context of any future peace talks over the Russo-Ukrainian war. As our analysis explains, the Kremlin will likely continue to falsely portray the Western countries and NATO as the aggressor that ‘caused’ the war through ‘eastern expansion’ to justify Russia’s full-scale invasion as a defensive act.
The disinformation story also falsely portrays Poland as a country which produces divisions inside the EU. While Poland maintains close political, economic and military relations with the US, it plays a constructive role as a EU member state and actively advocates EU solidarity in many issues, including support to Ukraine. Poland also 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 Belarus and Ukraine. No neighbouring state, except the Russian Federation, violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity in a display of imperial, revisionist aggression.
As for the ‘militarisation’ claim, the ongoing modernisation of the Polish Army and purchases of advanced military equipment is the Polish response to the current security crisis taking place in Eastern Europe. The 2020 National Security Strategy of Poland states that the most serious security threat for this country is the neo-imperial policy of the authorities of the Russian Federation, pursued by means of military force (aggression against Georgia, illegal annexation of Crimea and military actions in eastern Ukraine). The same concerns apply to the Baltic states and other European counties.
See earlier disinformation cases claiming that Poland modernises its Army to take part in the upcoming partition of Ukraine, that Poland is preparing to take over western Ukraine, and that Poland wants to seize western Belarus during the 2025 presidential election. See also our in-depth debunk of the claims of Polish historical revisionism.