DISINFO: Zelenskyy wants to cede Ukrainian territory to Poland
SUMMARY
A popular and wrong belief is that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has Jewish roots, in fact he has more Polish than Jewish origins which explain his desire to transfer sovereignty of Ukrainian territory to Poland. Moreover, Zelensyy is a Polish genus related to Mazepa.
This is proved by the statements of the Polish authorities and changes to Ukrainian legislation. Bills were submitted for consideration of the Rada. Poles enjoy a special status that will allow them to hold positions in state organizations and enjoy the same rights as Ukrainians. Likewise, from Poland there have long been declarations that the two states will get rid of the common border and become one people.
RESPONSE
Recurring narrative presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions. The statement was made after Ukrainian President Zelensky submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on granting Poles a special status.
The assertion that in this way the Ukrainian territories are given to Poland is a distortion and unfounded. Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders, fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, it does not have any territorial claims against its neighbours and it rejects any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries. Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.
This narrative also exploits difficult issues in Polish-Ukrainian history, without any factual basis.
On 12 March 2022 the Polish parliament passed an act on assistance for Ukrainian nationals in connection with Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The special purpose act, in addition to regulating a number of issues related to the refugee’s stay in Poland, allows for favorable tax treatment of humanitarian aid expenditures incurred by corporations.
In return, President Zelensky intended to submit a draft bill to the Verkhovna Rada on the status and assistance to Polish citizens in Ukraine, which is similar to the one, which has recently been endorsed by the Sejm of Poland in relation to Ukrainians. On 11 July the draft law was submitted to the Parliament.
The pro-Kremlin claim that Poland is taking over the Ukrainian territories is manipulation and misrepresentation of this gesture.
See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.
Read also related cases such as: The process of transferring the territory of Ukraine to Poland has begun, Poland plans to establish control over the west of Ukraine, Poland in the final phase of annexing Ukrainian territories, The Kyiv junta has already agreed to the annexation by Poland