Russia has stepped up information operations to spoil the already tense relations between Poles and Ukrainians. Russian bot activity has already been noticed in Poland, and on July 5, FSB may publish fake documents about the Volyn tragedy to provoke a new conflict.
This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).
Polandʼs Minister-Coordinator of Intelligence Services Tomasz Siemoniak said that Russia is using troll farms, botnets and other tools of information warfare. They are spreading manipulative posts and speculation around historical topics to divide Poles and Ukrainians.
Previously, Polish law enforcement officers had already recorded Russiaʼs attempts to organize and finance measures to destabilize the situation in the country.
In addition, the Central Intelligence Agency warned of a new FSB provocation. According to them, on July 5, the Russian special service plans to publish fake documents about the events of World War II, namely the Volyn tragedy. After that, Russian state media and bot networks are expected to actively disseminate this information.
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation Andriy Kovalenko noted that the director of the Russian FSB Alexander Bortnikov is currently personally responsible for Russian information operations aimed at creating a split between Poland and Ukraine.
Deterioration of relations between Ukraine and Poland
On May 26, Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree awarding the Separate Special Operations Center "North" of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the honorary title "named after the Heroes of UPA". The document states that this was done "to restore the historical traditions of the national army".
This decision by the Ukrainian president caused outrage among Poles. And on June 19, incumbent President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Polandʼs highest state award, which he had been awarded by former Polish President Andrzej Duda. Zelensky later sent his order to Poland via “Nova Post”.
After that, three former Ukrainian presidents: Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko, as well as other Ukrainian high-ranking officials, refused the order. In addition, former deputy of the Polish Sejm Piotr Vogler refused the Golden Cross of Merit.
At the same time, Polish politicians began to refuse Ukrainian state awards. In particular, this decision was announced by former Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and former Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. And former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki “as a sign of protest” transferred the Ukrainian Order of Yaroslav the Wise to the Museum of Memory of the Victims of the Volyn Tragedy in Chelm, Poland.
On July 3, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, at a meeting with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski, proposed to Poland a "package of anti-crisis steps" to regulate relations between the countries. These include consultations between the foreign ministries, a meeting of historians studying World War II, and the involvement of religious leaders of the countries in the dialogue.
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