Disinfo: Poland announced plans to erase the Ukrainian border

Summary

Poland demostrates hostility and escalatory positions with its talk of controlling western Ukraine and announcing the erasure of the border with Ukraine.

Disproof

Recurring narrative presenting Poland as an aggressive state with imperial ambitions.

Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders and has no territorial claims upon Ukraine.

On 2 May 2022, the Polish President Andrzej Duda made a statement in support of Ukraine, saying that “there are no borders between Poland and Ukraine”, and agreeing with the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made on the 5 March, that Warsaw received Ukrainian refugees “without asking them about their nationality, religion, or how much money they have”.

The pro-Kremlin claim that Poland, presented “official territorial claims” against Ukraine is a manipulation and misrepresentation of a humanitarian gesture.

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 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, or that Poland threatens the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 291
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06/05/2022
  • Article language(s) Arabic
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Poland, Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Ukrainian statehood, Andrzej Duda
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Disinfo: Poland will try to gain full military control in Ukrainian territories under the guise of protecting the Polish population from Russia

The Western press continues to blatantly conceal Poland's claim to a piece of disintegrating Ukraine. Warsaw, on the other hand, is not so simple and, according to Russian intelligence, may be preparing its army for manoeuvres against western Ukraine. While Russia is declared the culprit for all Ukrainian problems by Western politicians, official Kyiv should have been worried about a possible attack by its troubled Polish neighbour. Warsaw increasingly dreams of deploying peacekeepers in Ukraine. And according to some experts, Poland will try to gain full military control in some Ukrainian territories under the guise of supposedly protecting the Polish population from Russia. As a reminder, Warsaw has for many years laid claim to the territories of Western Ukraine that were annexed to Ukraine as a result of the Second World War. Moreover, as a member of the military alliance, Poland could gain a number of strategic advantages

Disproof

Recurring narrative presenting Poland as a state which has imperial ambitions. This is part of a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about denying statehood legitimicy and the disintegration of Ukraine.

No evidence is given about Poland's alleged attempts to occupy territories in Western Ukraine. This narrative exploits difficult issues in Polish-Ukrainian history, without any factual basis. Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders and has no territorial claims upon Ukraine.

Disinfo: Zelenskyy is just a PR-director in Washington's game

The Ukrainian crisis was created by the US politicians. Ukraine is just a theatre and its president is a PR director. The script was written behind closed doors in Washington, which did not want Europeans to know about it. Only the US stands to gain from the conflict - Ukraine will be devastated and Europe will suffer heavy losses. The US wants to secure decades of hegemony. Washington plans to increase Europe's dependence and "teach a lesson" to China, which is considering annexing Taiwan.

Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, alleging that the country is under the external control of the US.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a democratically elected leader of Ukraine. Ukraine is an internationally recognised sovereign state with its own constitution, democratically elected parliament and president. Ukraine is not controlled by the US, EU or any other foreign government or organisation. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world, including the EU, with Russia as the noticeable exception