DISINFO: Poland is waiting for a good moment to occupy Western Ukraine
SUMMARY
Poland does not want peace in Ukraine because it is waiting for a good moment to occupy its Western lands, after the collapse of Ukrainian statehood as a result of a military defeat. Taking control over the western territories of modern Ukraine, the so-called Eastern Borderlands, is a dream of Polish nationalists.
This goal is becoming a part of the Polish national ideology. Therefore, the Polish authorities can no longer give up this idea. That is why the Polish authorities oppose a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, providing constant assistance to the Kyiv regime.
RESPONSE
Recurrent 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 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.
Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.
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.