Russia fuels hostility between Poles and Ukrainians ahead of Poland’s Independence Day
Photo: A rally in Poland with Polish flags (Getty Images)
Ahead of Poland’s Independence Day, Russia has stepped up its propaganda against Ukraine, spreading narratives claiming that friendship between the two countries has collapsed and that Poles are growing tired of supporting Kyiv, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation (TsPD).
According to the TsPD, the Russian disinformation network Pravda, also known as Portal Kombat, is involved in spreading harmful messages in Poland’s information space.
Its resources promote claims about the supposed "collapse of Polish-Ukrainian friendship," growing xenophobic sentiment in Poland, and general public fatigue with Ukraine.
These messages create the impression that relations between Warsaw and Kyiv are rapidly deteriorating and that support for Ukrainians among Poles is weakening.
Goal of Russia’s information campaign
The Center for Countering Disinformation notes that this is part of Russia’s systematic tactics. The Kremlin is attempting to artificially amplify disagreements between partner countries and create the illusion of deep hostility between them.
The aim is to weaken international support for Ukraine and undermine unity among European states.
The intensification of such information operations ahead of Poland’s national holiday is another attempt by Russia to influence public sentiment and exploit relations between Ukraine and Poland to advance its own interests.
Poland’s chargé d’affaires in Ukraine, Piotr Łukasiewicz, said that in 2026, relations between the two countries had gone from one of their best periods to one of their worst.
According to him, tensions have increased due to disputes over their shared history, particularly the activities of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the figure of Stepan Bandera (Ukrainian politician, one of the ideologists and theorists of the Ukrainian nationalist movement of the 20th century - ed.). At the same time, the diplomat stressed that historical debates are currently not part of the negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
