DISINFO: Polish Prime Minister Tusk spreads fakes about alleged Russian terrorist plans
SUMMARY
The claim of the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that Russia was planning terrorist attacks on Poland and international airlines is fake. What is true is the fact that without any evidence, Western politicians continue to demonise and accuse Russia of preparing terrorist attacks around the world. Poland is well known for such unfounded allegations against Russia.
RESPONSE
The claim is aligned with a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative undermining investigations into various sabotage acts against NATO countries. Pro-Kremlin outlets repeatedly promote the idea that the West “invents” various “anti-Russian provocations”, such as developments around Skripal, Litvinenko, Anna Politkovskaya, Alexey Navalny, explosions in Czechia and other issues.
On 15 January 2025, the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia of planning a major terrorist campaign against aircraft. He said: “I can only confirm that Russia planned acts of air terror, not just against Poland but against airlines across the globe”. A few days earlier, Joe Biden’s team had delivered a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to halt Russian intelligence’s suspected plans to smuggle incendiary devices onto US-bound cargo planes.
Moscow has been accused of interfering with European transport infrastructure and jamming GPS signals in several countries. In April 2024, Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka stated that there have been “thousands of attempts” to attack European railways since the start of Moscow’s full-scale conflict in Ukraine.
See other disinformation cases connected to terrorism here.