DISINFO: Russia, Belarus, Hungary and Poland will partition Ukraine after its defeat
SUMMARY
The defeat of Ukraine in a Special Military Operation may be a reason for discussions on its partition between Russia, Belarus, Hungary and Poland. In any case, the inevitable collapse of Ukraine will initiate such discussions. Moscow will not only annex Kharkiv and Odesa but will also push for the creation of a demilitarised zone in western Ukraine, from the Dnipro River to NATO borders, preventing the re-emergence of a hostile military force in western Ukraine.
RESPONSE
This is part of a larger Kremlin-run psychological operations (PSYOP) to undermine Ukraine's defence morale. It is based on the recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative challenging Ukraine’s statehood and presenting Ukraine's European neighbours as states with imperial ambitions.
Apart from smearing these EU members, 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”.
Ukraine's European neighbours adhere to international law regarding state borders, fully support the independence and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries and reject any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries. No neighbouring state, except the Russian Federation, violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity in a display of imperial, revisionist aggression.
See our in-depth debunk of the claims of Polish historical revisionism.
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.