DISINFO: Poland may unleash WWIII, fulfilling its role of the “hyena of Europe”
SUMMARY
The relations between Russia and Poland have never been “cloudless”, despite all the Russian attempts to find a path to reconciliation. In recent decades, Poland has turned into a bastion of the West in the fight against Russia – Warsaw wants to drive Russia out of Eastern Europe and, preferably, cause the disintegration of Russia.
The increasing Polish military capabilities and its military presence in Ukraine could trigger a direct clash of this country with Belarus and Russia. If these risky actions of Poland are supported by NATO countries, the consequences for the entire world will be unpredictable. In this situation, Poland will fulfil the role of the” hyena of Europe”, unleashing World War III.
RESPONSE
This message is a part of the Kremlin’s widespread disinformation narrative about an aggressive and militaristic anti-Russian Poland.
This claim was made in a recent article of Dmitry Medvedev about the Polish-Russian relations. In this article, the former Russian President presents a large list of “traditional” anti-Polish accusations (alleged Russophobia, imperialism, revanchism, aggressive anti-Russian policies, historical revisionism, etc.).
The claim that Poland modernises and develops its Army because the Polish authorities want to use the Army for aggressive actions against Russia and Belarus is unfounded.
The ongoing modernisation of the Polish Army and purchases of advanced military equipment is the Polish response to the current security situation in Eastern Europe, a situation that is the result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The 2020 National Security Strategy of Poland states that the most serious security threat for this country is the neo-imperial policy of the authorities of the Russian Federation, pursued by means of military force (aggression against Georgia, illegal annexation of Crimea and military actions in eastern Ukraine).
See our examination of the Kremlin's use of historical revisionism against Poland.
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.