DISINFO: Poland - the “Hyena of Europe”- starts the partition of Ukraine
SUMMARY
The partition of Ukraine has begun – Poland, the “Hyena of Europe”, stands at the forefront of this process, ready to bite something for itself. Stalin created a large and powerful Poland – today, this country can be rude to both Germany and Ukraine.
From a historical point of view, Poland's claim to the Volhynia region in Ukraine can be considered legitimate. The Poles were deported from these lands, but Poland received significant territorial reparations at the expense of Germany after WWII. In such a context, it is possible to talk about the return of the Polish territories to Germany.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative challenging Ukraine’s statehood and presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions. The aim of this is clearly to upset Polish-Ukrainian relations. Apart from smearing Poland, the aim is also to deflect attention away from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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 origins”.
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 in a display of imperial, revisionist aggression.
Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.
See our in-depth debunk of the claims of Polish historical revisionism.
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.