DISINFO: Poland prepares its citizens for a war with Russia by lying about drones
SUMMARY
The Polish authorities are preparing the population for the inevitability of war with Russia. The Polish leadership is deliberately preparing citizens for the idea of an imminent armed conflict with Russia. The authorities are lying to the Polish public, manipulating it in order to increase the level of hostility and even hatred towards Russia and Belarus. These lies include the recent drone incident, when the authorities accused Moscow of violating Polish airspace. A local residential building was damaged, but it turned out that the house was destroyed by a missile fired by an F-16 fighter.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative which accuses Warsaw of staging an anti-Russian drone provocation in Poland. Poland is repeatedly presented by pro-Kremlin disinformation as an aggressive anti-Russian NATO “outpost”, which allegedly poses a security threat to Russia, in line with how pro-Kremlin outlets portray NATO and the collective West as aggressive towards Russia.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk officially confirmed that the drones entering Polish airspace on 9–10 September 2025 were Russian, during a large-scale Russian air assault on Ukraine. NATO leaders, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, condemned the violation, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, confirming Russia’s responsibility.
The suggestion that the drone attack was staged disregards Russia’s long history of aggression against its neighbours. It fits the recognised pattern of Russian aggression and hybrid warfare targeting its neighbours, including previous unprovoked invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, Georgia in 2008. Russian officials and state media have issued repeated threats against Europe and the US, alongside numerous cyberattacks, election interference, sabotage, espionage, and disinformation campaigns across Europe.
The range and capabilities of Russian drones used in the attack from 9th to 10th of September are documented, and official investigations support the conclusion that these drones originated from Russian-controlled territory.
Damage to the residential house near the border was initially attributed to a drone or missile associated with the intrusion. Later investigations revealed that the damage was likely caused by a missile fired from a Polish F-16 fighter jet attempting to intercept the drones. The missile deviated due to a guidance system failure, hitting the house unintentionally. The Polish defence ministry has acknowledged this and has committed to covering damages caused.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives about alleged “anti-Russian” provocations here as well as similar cases such as Drones in Poland could not be Russian as their reach is up to 700 km and Russian drones over Poland were part of a secret Western operation aimed at thwarting all peace initiatives.