Russian propaganda media massively disseminate the statement of the head of the Lublin city council Yaroslav Pakula, who allegedly accused Ukraine of provocation, that is, of the deliberate shelling of the Polish city of Przewoduv, where on November 15 two people died from a rocket fall.

“Obviously, this is a Ukrainian missile. Obviously, this is a provocation on the part of the Ukrainian authorities. The purpose of the provocation is to speed up the supply of weapons to Ukraine, to intimidate Europe with a terrible Russia, so that civil society demands from the governments of European countries to increase assistance to Ukraine”, Pakula’s words are allegedly quoted in publications. But the StopFake project found out that the Facebook page on which this post was published was created on November 16, 2022. That is the day after the missile hit. Moreover, all the posts posted on it were also made public exactly on November 16 but the date in them was changed to the previous ones. At the time of publication of the news of the Russian media, which quoted "Pakula", there was not a single like or share of this post. Fact checkers have contacted Pakula and are waiting for his comment, but it is clear that the Facebook page was created on purpose to spread disinformation.

Previously, Russian propagandists have repeatedly used fake pages of politicians or media to spread fakes. Russia is also trying to quarrel with its closest neighbors and partners, so it constantly promotes fakes about Poland and its relations with Ukraine.

Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels once again spread information that supposedly Poland wants to return "its territories". They say that Kyiv and Warsaw agreed on the occupation of Western Ukraine, and the plan should be implemented by Polish mercenaries, a large number of whom are fighting for Ukraine.

Stanislav Zharyn, a spokesman for the Coordinating Minister of the Polish Intelligence Services, drew attention to this on his Twitter.

He noted that Russian propagandists spread misinformation, allegedly "the Polish government approves of such participation of these mercenaries".

According to him, Russian propaganda has actively worked to introduce these messages into the Western information environment, and these hostile efforts are "perfectly in line with the Kremlin's attempts to portray Poland as a warmonger and isolate Warsaw on the international stage".

"Russian propaganda is activating the information war in order to break the will and readiness of the allies to continue to support Kyiv, and comes up with far-fetched pretexts for striking civilian and energy infrastructure in Ukraine", Zharyn added.

Russian information resources and social networks are circulating reports that Ukraine is allegedly going to sign a bill on the association of Poland and the Lviv region. The messages allegedly quote Volodymyr Zelenskyi saying that “Poland will come to Ukrainian land not as an occupier, but as a brother and ally” and that “it doesn’t matter who formally is the host of the land, what matters is the well-being and prosperity of the people living on it” . It is not true.

There is no draft law on the association of Poland and the Lviv oblast. Zelenskyi's quote was also made up. At the same time, there is a law in Ukraine that establishes the rights and guarantees for Polish citizens who are on the territory of Ukraine. The law was developed in gratitude to the Polish people for their solidarity and support for Ukraine in the face of a full-scale Russian invasion.

The Russian propaganda media spread this thesis. Reports say that Poland allegedly continues preparations for the division of Ukraine and, for this purpose, has started the construction of an energy bridge.

The reports' authors claim that the energy bridge construction is taking place within the framework of the project of reintegration of "historical" Polish lands. The Poles have allegedly been working for a long time to take control of the energy infrastructure of the western regions of Ukraine.

They believe this will allow Poland to strengthen its influence in Ukraine significantly. Online media Ye.ua drew attention to the message. It isn't the first time Russia has leaked information about Poland's so-called plans to occupy part of Ukraine. Propagandists have already spread information that Poland is trying to annex part of Ukraine and are preparing for this in every possible way. In particular, Poland is allegedly preparing a referendum in the Lviv region.

However, it is a fake, as is the case with the power system. It isn't Poland that wants to destroy the Ukrainian energy system and take it under control, but Russia, since October 10, has been systematically shelling energy facilities throughout Ukraine.

Such information is promoted in anonymous Telegram channels. Poles, Romanians, Slovaks, and Hungarians allegedly want to destroy a piece of Ukraine for their purposes. Fresh evidence of this is that Poland allegedly moves military equipment to the border with Belarus. According to propagandists, if Belarus officially takes part in the war against Ukraine, then the USA and Britain will allow the territories of Ukraine to be divided between the neighboring countries - Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. Russia's mission is supposed to protect Ukraine from division. For the sake of this goal, Russia is ready to use "not only tactical nuclear weapons but something stronger" against Ukraine.

Earlier, propagandists repeatedly spread fakes about Poland's intention to annex Lviv Oblast. In particular, they wrote that Poland had begun an "economic takeover" of Ukraine and the western regions of Ukraine and that a referendum would be held in Lviv Oblast regarding the region's accession to Poland. Disinformation about the intention of Western countries to take over Ukraine is aimed at destroying Ukraine's unity with the European Union and canceling support for Ukraine.

This way, propagandists divert attention from illegal pseudo-referendums in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia and convince them that they aren't taking over Ukraine but protecting it from Western invaders.

The Russian media spread such messages concerning the materials of the Washington Post. Allegedly, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Oslo criticized his colleagues for trying to "make money" after reducing gas supplies from Russia. It is not true.

In fact, the Washington Post article "Norway portrayed as both hero and villain of Europe's energy crisis" is devoted to changes in the structure of the gas market in Europe and consumers' reactions to it. "Quoting" the alleged current words of the Polish prime minister, the propagandists resorted to manipulation. Poland gave up Russian gas in May, filled its storage facilities to 100% in August, and the Baltic Pipe for transporting Norwegian gas became operational as early as September. The volumes of Norwegian gas that will be delivered through the pipeline are similar to previous Russian deliveries. Russian propaganda systematically uses quotes taken out of context to make wishful thinking come true. More details.

Such information is disseminated through propaganda information resources. Allegedly, Poland's intentions regarding Ukrainian territories are quite aggressive. Allegedly, ballots are already ready for voting for the secession of the Lviv region from Ukraine and joining Poland. It's fake.

As reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation, the Kremlin’s attempts to promote the thesis of the “Polish threat” have been heard since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, they have been repeatedly denied by officials in Poland and Ukraine.

It is likely that disinformation about Poland's intentions to occupy the Lviv region is being spread in order to divert attention from the illegal pseudo-referendums in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. Also, a new “wave” of disinformation about Poland’s allegedly aggressive plans is aimed at destroying Ukrainian-Polish unity and canceling support for Ukraine.

Previously, propagandists have repeatedly spread fakes in relation to Poland. In particular, they wrote that Poland began the "economic seizure" of Ukraine and the western regions of Ukraine.

Such a thesis is being circulated on social media as a continuation of the Kremlin’s narrative that Poland intends to annex Ukraine. To promote the message, they used the news that Ukraine and Poland intend to build a pipeline to transport Ukrainian sunflower oil to the Polish port of Hdansk.

The construction of such a pipeline is, first of all, beneficial to Ukraine, since it will contribute to the partial unblocking of Ukrainian exports in the face of Russian aggression. It was previously reported about the construction of an oil pipeline 600 km long and with a capacity of up to 2 million tons of oil per year. The pipeline will be laid from Yahodyn (Volyn region) to Hdansk.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine explains that the start of a full-scale military aggression by Russia and the blocking of Ukrainian seaports forced the government to look for new routes for the transportation of Ukrainian agro-food products. Ukraine is a major world producer and exporter of grain and vegetable oils, and by the beginning of the war, more than 90% of these products were exported through ports located on the Black Sea.

Poland believes that in addition to partial unblocking of Ukrainian exports, the implementation of the memorandum will also contribute to improving the food security of countries facing famine. As a consequence, this should reduce migration pressure on Europe.

We are not talking about any capture of Ukraine by Poland. It was Ukraine that initiated the project to build a pipeline to the Polish port of Hdansk as Russia continues to threaten exports from Ukrainian seaports.

Russia is constantly spreading fakes that Poland intends to seize part of Ukraine. In July, propagandists wrote that two Polish brigades would take control of Western Ukraine in August. They also wrote that Ukraine is a “dying donor”, each country wants a “piece” for itself, and Poland takes the most. Thus, the propagandists are trying to destroy the partnership between Ukraine and Poland. 

This information was disseminated by a number of pro-Russian Facebook accounts. Like, Ambassador Petro Vrublevskyi flew to Poland after he was given only a few hours to leave Kazakhstan.

However, this message is not true. The ambassador did leave Kazakhstan, but in connection with a vacation. This was reported by both the Ukrainian and Kazakh sides.

This manipulation is used to discredit Ukrainian diplomats, especially against the backdrop of recent statements by the ambassador that Ukraine is trying to kill as many Russians as possible in the war with Russia. This statement, taken out of context, was replicated, but Vrublevskyi apologized for it, explaining it by his emotional state due to the war.

Russian media are massively spreading a fake about “thousands of lawsuits” that descendants seem to have filed

Poles who lived in Lviv until 1939, demanding that their apartments be returned to them.

In fact, there are no such claims. In their materials, the Russian media refer to the article of the publication “Strana” (“State”), which for many years promotes pro-Russian theses. This time the publication took a comment from the chairman of the Polish organization “Restitution of Kresov” Konrad Renkas, who stated that such claims are prepared. But during the war they decided not to sue.

At the same time, the Russian media wrote that the Ukrainian courts were already “overwhelmed” with these lawsuits.

Anonymous telegram channels and Russian media "quote" an interview with Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine Serhii Nikolaichuk to Rabbit Hole. They say that the stocks were transferred for storage "until the situation normalizes," but now Kyiv is unlikely to be able to return them. It is not true.

Serhii Nikolaichuk did not say that either in this interview or in any other. There are no mentions of gold reserves in the Rabbit Hole interview. They are talking only about the problems and challenges of the Ukrainian economy during the war. The information was checked by the StopFake fact checkers. No amendments were made to the article on the export of gold and foreign exchange reserves.

According to the National Bank, as of August 1, monetary gold makes up only 6.7% of the gold and foreign exchange reserves. Most of the gold and foreign exchange reserves (54.9%) are securities, another 38.3% is in cash accounts. In general, the gold and foreign exchange reserves of Ukraine are a collection of reserves that are placed in different places and forms, so it is impossible to take the “entire stock” to Poland.

This is stated in a letter allegedly signed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Marcin Przydacz. It is not true.

The letter from the Polish Foreign Ministry is a fake response to a fake letter from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. The "letter of response" speaks of a positive decision to rename a street in Warsaw in honor of Stepan Bandera, which houses the Russian embassy. In addition, the "letter" refers to the ways of future promotion of Bandera among the Polish population. According to the Center for Countering Disinformation, a bot account on the social network Facebook, which contains almost no messages of other messages, was likely the primary source.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine discovered a fake letter in the information space, allegedly on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. In it, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry seems to appeal to its Polish colleagues with a request to rename the street in Warsaw in honor of Stepan Bandera, where the Russian embassy is located. The goal of the fake is to discredit Ukraine, warned the CPD.

 Facebook users told about the mailing. The reports say that allegedly Ukrainian politicians short-sightedly hand over national interests to Poland, and Poles "do not consider us as people, they are Polonizing and will soon "take away" the western regions". They are also trying to convince Ukrainians that "Ukrainian children will be stolen and turned into Poles"; the "absorption of Ukrainians by the Polish nation" is taking place; "our children will not remain Ukrainian in Polish schools"; it is already allegedly about a "Ukrainian-Polish federation or confederation, and in Poland, Ukrainians are increasingly not welcome." It is also alleged that ordinary Poles harass volunteers who collect money for Ukrainian refugees and want to return the western regions of Ukraine under their control, telling at their official events that Lviv is a Polish city." Bandera and the Volyn tragedy are also mentioned in the reports.

In the posts, topics and messages that affect the reader's emotional state are deliberately used. Messages are sent from Russian numbers. Subscribers with the numbers +7 (950) 869-0734 and +7 (908) 186-7552 are served by the operator T2 Mobile in the Rostov region of Russia. In this way, the Russians are once again trying to destroy friendly relations between Ukrainians and Poles and discredit Poland's assistance to Ukraine during the war. 

Russian propaganda presented the Facebook post of Ukrainian activist Ihor Isayev as a general opinion of all Ukrainians, which, of course, was spread by the pro-Kremlin media.

An article appeared on the Wyborcza. pl website with the title "Almost every third resident of Wroclaw is Ukrainian. And there are more and more of them." The article discussed a study by the Polish Metropolises Union, which showed that Wroclaw is the second Polish city after Warsaw in which the largest number of Ukrainians live. Ihor Isayev reacted to the article with a Facebook post (at the same time, the Russian agitprop claimed that these were comments on the publication, it is also false - ed.), that "the law on national minorities allows the introduction of an auxiliary language (as well as bilingual signs) in the commune if there is at least 20% of minority representatives. We don't have an interpretation of emigrants' amount, although the law does not explicitly say so. Nevertheless, in large Polish cities, we can already fight for the Ukrainian language to become the second state language."

In general, there is no mention of any demands from the Ukrainian refugees. Moreover, it is legally impossible. Polish is the only official language in the Republic of Poland. This is stipulated in the Constitution, Article 27. Read more.

Russian propagandists falsified the front page of the Polish publication “Dziennik Wschodni” and published it on Facebook and VKontakte. On a fake newspaper page, the propagandists posted the material under the heading: "Zelensky will return Ukraine to Poland." This is, of course, a fake, which shows quite well how Russia works on social networks.

The thesis that the western part of Ukraine should allegedly become part of Poland was actively promoted by Russian propagandists from the beginning of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine. The fiction was "reinforced" with fake maps that seem to demonstrate Poland's intentions to seize the western regions of Ukraine; then forged documents with seemingly orders to attack these territories; then about the alleged battalions of Poles in Ukraine; then about the "Poles legalization"; then about the alleged plans of Poland "to go over to the Russian side and then capture the western regions of Ukraine", etc.

In this way, the Russians want to provoke enmity between Poles and Ukrainians.

Photos of price tags from stores in the Ternopil and Lviv regions for basic products (buckwheat, eggs, and cabbage) on which the prices are indicated not only in hryvnias but also in zlotys are allegedly being distributed on the network. Because of this, residents allegedly are afraid of joining the regions of Poland, especially because of the draft law on a special status for Polish citizens. It is a fake. These photos have been edited, and the prices are not correct. More details. As for the law on the special status of Polish citizens in Ukraine, the president introduced the relevant draft law to the Verkhovna Rada on July 11 in compliance with the principle of reciprocity of international law. It is a response to the law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine, adopted by Poland in March. There are no provisions of law that would provide for the accession of Ukraine to Poland.

Such information is spread on social networks, adding an alleged fight video. In the messages to the video, they add that Polish women recently fought with Ukrainian refugees. However, it is not true. According to VoxCheck, a reverse TinEye search shows that the video appeared online in 2016 on the Polish website wykop.pl.

According to several Polish media, the fight took place at the beginning of July in the Polish resort town of Władysławowo and gained wide publicity. It recorded the participation of three girls and several men who tried to separate them. The exact cause of the fight is unknown. In the comments under the video, it is noted that such cases are often associated with excessive alcohol consumption and frequently occur at summer parties.

There is no mention of the nationality of the participants, so there is no reason to talk about a conflict between Poles and refugees from Ukraine either. It is not the first time Russian propaganda has spread fakes about refugees from Ukraine in various states that accepted them because of the war. In this way, the propaganda seeks to discredit the refugees from Ukraine themselves and to create the appearance that the attitude towards Ukrainians is deteriorating in the countries that receive them.

Russian media spread information that two battalions of the Polish army allegedly arrived in Ukraine and were sent to Pavlograd (Dnipropetrovsk region). Reports say that these Polish battalions were destroyed on the territory of Ukraine. However, it is not true.

Polish regular troops do not take part in Russia's war against Ukraine. In a comment to the Polish publication Konkret24, the General Staff of the Polish Army denied information about the participation of Polish battalions in the war on the territory of Ukraine, calling such reports another fake of systematic Russian propaganda. Poles can fight in Ukraine as part of the International Legion, which is subordinate to the Armed Forces. Therefore, Poles or any military personnel with foreign citizenship who fight in this legion are Ukrainian military personnel. More details. 

Another continuation of the message that Poland will attack Ukraine in the west was voiced by Kremlin propagandist Yaakov Kedmi. He noted that he relies on the data received from Polish intelligence. Stanislav Zharin, a representative of the Polish special services, denied the information on Twitter. He noted that it is part of the Kremlin's disinformation campaign against Poland.

It will be recalled that the message about Poland's attack appeared as early as March 2022 after the visit to Ukraine of Polish Deputy Prime Minister Yaroslav Kaczyński. In May, it was activated with new fakes. At the same time, the thesis about the division of Ukraine between Poland and Russia and the preservation of the "neutral" third of Ukraine with its center in Kyiv has been promoted by Russian propaganda since at least 2014.

MythDetector adds that political scientist Yaakov Kedmi appears in the "Putin List" created by "Free Russia" as a person who cooperates with the Putin regime and is involved in the propaganda of Russian TV channels. Since the 2010s, he has been a frequent guest of the TV channels "Russia 1" and ITON.TV. Kedmi regularly criticizes Ukraine, accusing it of anti-Semitism and Nazism. More about the propagandist.

Telegram channels spread the news allegedly about the call of the youth group of the "Polish Crown Confederation" party to tear down Ukrainian flags around the city with the slogans "we do not want to make Ukropoliya out of Poland," "Ukrainians go to Ukraine," "there is no common future with Ukraine in Poland." Reports say that this protest allegedly spread to Warsaw and border cities. It is not true.

In fact, in Wroclaw, four guys organized a press conference at the "City Transport Company" headquarters due to dissatisfaction with the Ukrainian flags that the company displayed on Wroclaw's buses and trams and offered to submit a petition to replace them with Polish flags. Young people talked about Ukrpolia, but in the context of the party rhetoric of the Confederation of the Polish Crown, a Eurosceptic party that advocates for a "traditional" Poland. "We want a Polish, not a rainbow, left or serf Poland under the dictates of Brussels Eurocrats. We also do not want to turn Poland into Ukropolia, and we will not allow those in power to do so," the message reads.

According to the fact-checkers of "On the other side of the news," the company president, Krzysztof Balawejder, came to the young people and informed them that the mayor of Wrocław had agreed upon the initiative. He added that the blue-yellow flag is a meaningful gesture of solidarity, and the Polish flag is a reason for pride. The company's office also has the flags of Ukraine and the European Union. After that, the "rally" ended. There is no information about similar protests in Warsaw or other cities. Reporting protests over Ukrainian flags in Poland is a manipulation of pro-Russian Telegram channels to worsen Ukrainian-Polish relations.