DISINFO: Poland and Lithuania have plans for the annexation of Western Ukraine
SUMMARY
There is not much talk about how the forces of other fighting countries may have other plans for Ukraine, inspired in history, such as Poland and Lithuania. Polish leaders may expect to create a coalition under the NATO umbrella and intervene directly in the Ukrainian conflict to recover what they consider their historical territories, what is today Western Ukraine. A joint brigade formed by Vilna, Warsaw and Kyiv may act in Ukrainian soil, and this coalition would be the perfect disguise for others to do the dirty job. Supposedly, it would be used to guarantee the security of Western Ukraine but, in fact, for the actual occupation of those territories.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Poland and other countries intend to take advantage of the situation to occupy Ukrainian territories. The aim is manifold: to create the illusion that some of Ukraine’s allies are governed by historical revanchism; seed mistrust between Kyiv and some of its backers; and deflect attention away from Russia' aggression, shifting blame on these countries by attributing to others what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
The false allegation that Poland was plotting with the US to divide Ukraine and take over some territory was initially spread by the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Narishkin in April 2022, and later repeated by the head of Russia’s National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and other top officials.This message has adopted several different and sometimes contradictory forms, including allegations that Poland wants either to create a puppet proxy-state in Western Ukraine or the annexation of these territories or that it is actually President Zelenskyy who wants to cede this land. More recently, it has also included the Baltic countries in these allegations of irredentism over Ukrainian territories.
See here for an in-depth analysis and debunk of this disinfo claim
In January 2023, the presidents of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine signed a joint statement supporting Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, in line with other statements by Polandalone, the EU and the US. Ukraine's sovereignty has been violated as a result of continuous acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since 2014, culminating with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine starting on 24 February 2022.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the process of transferring the territory of Ukraine to Poland has begun, that Poland is in the final phase of annexing Ukrainian territories, that the Kyiv junta has already agreed to the annexation by Poland, or that Poland and the Baltic states are preparing to send troops to Ukraine and attack Belarus.