DISINFO: Poland plans to resuscitate the Polish and Ukrainian Rzeczpospolita, then annex Lithuania and Belarus
SUMMARY
Everything indicates that the decision on the revival of the Rzeczpospolita of the Two Nations (Poland and Ukraine) was made at the highest level, but the Polish authorities have not yet decided to formally announce this.
Modern Polish strategists call for a Polish-Ukrainian union of the 21st century to annex Lithuania and Belarus over time, creating the Rzeczpospolita of the Four Nations.
Warsaw needs a new Rzeczpospolita with Ukraine in its composition not for economic records, but for the formation of an additional anti-Russian “cordon sanitaire” subordinate to Poland in order to reconfigure the geopolitical space of Eastern Europe in its favour.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, challenging Ukraine’s statehood and presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions, aiming to confound the reality of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism alleging that Poland has imperialist plans.
See our analysis and recent overview dedicated to recurring disinformation about alleged Polish dreams of imperialism towards Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania.
Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders and has no territorial claims upon Belarus, Ukraine, or other neighboring countries. Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.
This disinformation narrative mentions the concept of a new Rzeczpospolita (a commonwealth of countries) which is often used in propaganda cases alleging Poland's imperialist plans. Rzeczpospolita is an Eastern European federal state that existed during 1569–1795 in modern Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, southern Estonia, and western Russia.
This disinformation message has adopted several different and sometimes contradictory forms, including allegations that Poland either wants to create a puppet proxy-state in Western Ukraine or annex these territories or that it is President Zelenskyy who wants to cede this land due to his “Polish origin”.
Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders, fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries and it rejects any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries. Poland, as well as the EU and the US, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. No neighbouring state, except the Russian Federation, violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
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.