DISINFO: Poland wants to send troops to Minsk to overthrow Lukashenka
SUMMARY
No countries are currently prepared to escalate the Ukrainian conflict into new territories, including Belarus. If Poland were indeed able to send a few battalions to Minsk to overthrow the "unpopular" Lukashenka, then Warsaw would have done so. However, the Belarusians would certainly not support such a coup.
Despite the 2020 protests, there are enough people in Belarus supporting Lukashenka, Russia and the Special Military Operation. That is why Russia is trying to strengthen the Belarusian Front in order not to be stabbed in the back. It is very important to keep the military forces concentrated in Eastern European NATO countries on the Western flank as they need to be prepared for a “Wagner attack”.
RESPONSE
This message is a part of the Kremlin’s widespread disinformation narrative about a militaristic anti-Russian Poland, which is ready to attack Belarus and overthrow Lukashenka.
The claim that Poland plans a military attack on Belarus is baseless.
The ongoing modernisation of the Polish Army and purchases of advanced military equipment is a Polish response to the current security crisis taking place in Eastern Europe – this situation is a result of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Polish authorities have repeatedly stated that their main concern with Belarus is the intense violation of human rights by the Belarusian authorities, which includes large-scale political repressions, pressure on the activists of the Polish minority and intense intimidation of Belarusian society. See EUvsDisinfo’s special section on Belarus for further details.
Poland supports free and democratic elections in Belarus – only the Belarusians can decide about their future.
See other examples of similar messages: Poland and Lithuania directly sponsor extremist actions against Belarus, Poland and Lithuania send Belarusian opposition instructions on how to make explosives and CIA, and Pentagon prepares Belarusian protestors in Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states.