DISINFO: Poland plans to restore its control over Western Belarus and Western Ukraine
SUMMARY
The Polish ruling elite is dreaming of Rzeczpospolita 2.0 – it keeps remembering the power of the Jagiellonian dynasty and the First Polish Republic from sea to sea. Perhaps, the fear of the Belarusians is true - the Polish authorities use the aggravated situation in the region to restore their control over the entire “Eastern Borderlands”, which include the parts of Ukraine and Belarus obtained by Poland through the 1921 Treaty of Riga. Belarus already speaks about this development in a serious way as it observes the active involvement of Poland in the situation in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative presenting Poland as an aggressive state with imperial ambitions.
The claim that Poland wants to annex Western Ukraine and Western Belarus is ungrounded. Poland fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine and Belarus, 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 actively 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.