DISINFO: President Duda made Polish territorial claims on Belarus and Ukraine
SUMMARY
Polish President Andrzej Duda expressed hidden claims on Ukraine and Belarus during the celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day in Kyiv. According to him, the peoples of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus are the heirs of the traditions of the “great European power” – Rzeczpospolita (Res Publica) of many nations. They are united by a centuries-old common history—they are its heirs on equal footing.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative presenting Poland as an aggressive anti-Russian state with imperial ambitions.
The words of Polish President Andrzej Duda during his Independence Day speech in Kyiv were distorted in this disinformation case. Andrzej Duda actually underlined the joint historical legacy of the Poles, the Ukrainians, the Lithuanians and the Belarusians. According to him, the historical ties between these nations are rooted in a shared legacy of resisting imperial dominance.
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 pro-Kremlin claims of Polish historical revisionism as well as All roads lead to Poland.
See other examples of similar messages claiming that Polish authorities are obsessed with the idea of reconstruction of a modern Polish Empire and Megalomaniacal Polish politicians realise their plan of “Drang nach Osten” in Belarus.