A Polish advisory council uncovered an uptick in manipulative materials tied to Russian services. Experts fear the campaign aims to inflame memories of Volhynia and break Polish Ukrainian ties.
The Advisory Council on Resilience to International Disinformation at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recorded a surge in Russian information operations aimed at deepening the divide between Poles and Ukrainians.
In a statement by the Council, released by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it notes a growing number of disinformation and manipulative materials in the information space both in Poland and internationally. The materials use the Volhynia events during World War II to provoke tension in Polish-Ukrainian relations.
According to the Council, the Russian FSB has recently joined this information campaign, releasing allegedly previously unknown documents about the July 1943 events in the town of Volodymyr-Volynskyi. The Russian side claims that the documents show the alleged “killing by Ukrainians of 11 Catholic priests and two thousand residents of the town.”
Polish historians have expressed doubts about the authenticity of these materials, noting that the mentioned events most likely did not occur. Experts believe that Russian propaganda could have combined different historical events that happened at different times and in different places to amplify the emotional effect.
This has nothing to do with uncovering new historical facts, and is an attempt to transfer the emotions connected with the past to contemporary Polish-Ukrainian relations in order to bring about their destruction
– Advisory Council on Resilience to International Disinformation at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Context of the information campaign and Russia’s actions
The Council also noted that Russia’s actions fall within a broader campaign to discredit Ukrainian institutions, notably the Center for Countering Disinformation at the NSDC of Ukraine, which on July 4 warned about Russia’s preparation of a corresponding information operation regarding the Volyn events.
The statement emphasized that, despite the sensitivity of Ukrainian-Polish memory and the emotions surrounding Volhynia, Polish citizens should not react to unverified materials from Russian sources until the historical research is completed.
“Polish-Ukrainian misunderstandings help only Russia,” the authors stressed, urging restraint of emotions and a critical approach to information that could provoke interethnic tension.
The Council also called on state institutions and Polish political forces to more actively expose Russian manipulation and provide the public with objective and reliable information.
As a reminder, the Advisory Council on Resilience to International Disinformation at the Polish MFA was established in September 2024 as a platform for cooperation among government bodies, scientific institutions, local government authorities, public organizations, and the private sector. It comprises 22 experts recommended by more than 100 public, academic, and private organizations involved in countering disinformation. The Council’s work is coordinated by the minister of foreign affairs’ envoy on countering international disinformation, Tomash Khlon.
It was also emphasized that previously the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the NSDC, Andriy Kovalenko, announced the intention of Russian special services to publish falsified documents about World War II events with the aim of undermining relations between Ukraine and Poland.
On Friday, the head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, stated that Russia is most interested in worsening relations between the two countries and would be “the happiest” if a deep political crisis between Poland and Ukraine were to arise.
Overall, the Council’s statement stresses the need for critical reception of information, maintaining objectivity, and strengthened monitoring of disinformation materials by state institutions and civil society to prevent the fueling of interethnic tension.