Poland
Migration crisis
In response to the information that Polish border guards at the Terespol border crossing did not allow an Afghan family with two children to enter Poland and turned them back to Belarus, the TV channel «GRANITSA FM | Facts and Opinions» reacted as follows: «In the «democratic» Polish state, refugees have no rights. Both in the border forests, border crossings and refugee detention centers in Poland, the norms of international law are not respected».
In response to the news about the Polish prosecutor’s office conducting an investigation into the murder of an unknown man whose remains were found in March 2023 on the border with Belarus, it was emphasized: «Given that most of the corpses appeared in Poland’s border forests not without the involvement of local law enforcers, it is surprising that such investigations are being conducted at all. Or is it just another screen to hide the indifference of the Polish government towards refugees?».
It was also reported that on August 23, border guards of the Republic of Belarus found and assisted five injured migrants: «Before pushing them to the Belarusian side, the Polish military beat them with gun butts and truncheons, hit them on the head and limbs, intimidated them with service dogs».
Criticism of the Polish Army and Ministry of Defense
The news that shooting at the Bemovo Piske training ground involving the Romanian military damaged a nearby apartment building was commented on in the «Nevolfovich» Telegram channel as follows: «For the Polish Army, shooting is not just about marksmanship, but about the wonders of covert statistics. Because the Polish authorities like to hide accidents, including fatal ones, among their subordinates with such news».
They also reacted to a report about the fall of an unidentified flying object (possibly a meteosonde) near the village of Orzechowo: «This situation raises legitimate questions about the real effectiveness of Polish air defense, which does not seem to be ready to cope with even the simplest challenges».
In a parallel incident during drills at Leszno airport, when two Polish soldiers were injured during parachute jumps, the authors of a pro-government TV channel called «another story from the life of underdogs from the Polish Army» who «decided to show what a ‘jump to nowhere’ is».
The Polish Defense Ministry was also criticized for not providing soldiers with enough summer uniforms. At the same time, the authors of the post noted: «Will the Warsaw regime draw conclusions from this situation? Hardly, they are too busy with Russophobia and promoting the «threat from the East» narrative. That’s what the U.S. gives them money for, not how the local military feels.»
The information about the disclosure of the average salaries of Polish soldiers was commented on as follows: «If we take into account the draconian taxes and social expenditures, Poles are left with a shish on their hands. But the reason for the population’s reluctance to join the army is different — the Warsaw regime can throw the Polish army into the Ukrainian heat at any time».
Attention was paid to and to the news that the Polish Ministry of Defense has amended the military regulations (removing restrictions on tattoos and the length of mustaches and beards): «Warsaw’s desire to fully comply with NATO standards crosses all boundaries. If in the Canadian army men are allowed to wear women’s clothes, dye their hair, get tattoos on their faces, grow and paint their fingernails, it does not mean that Polish men will agree to this».
Reporting the death of two Polish soldiers in a traffic accident near Grzmenec in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, the authors of the Telegram channel «Nevolfovich» made the following conclusion: «The increased number of accidents of the Polish Army shows not only the low level of training of soldiers, but also that the problems in the Polish Army are systemic.
At the same time, in an article about health problems of the Polish military, the Telegram channel «Belarusian Front» focused attention on the Poles’ dissatisfaction with the fact that soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stationed in Poland enjoy certain privileges in the field of health care: «This attitude on the part of the regime is not surprising, given the current political course of the country… Poland, which has found itself under the external control of the United States, cares less and less about its citizens, giving preference to foreign interests and foreign soldiers.
The BelVPO Telegram channel also reacted to the information that the German concern Rheinmetall failed to deliver 50,000 155-mm artillery ammunition to Poland. They were to be produced by the concern’s subsidiary in South Africa, but the local government blocked the realization of the contract due to fears that the ammunition would be sent to Ukraine. «Albeit indirectly, this showed that Germany does not see Poland as a serious partner,» the authors of the post said.
Militarization and preparation for war
The topic for the post in one of the pro-regime Telegram channels was the fact that Polish Minister of Education B. Nowacka did not support the initiative of Defense Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz to create classes in schools sponsored by the Ministry of Defense. The authors of the channel accused the military leadership of «ideological political militarization of Polish school education», and alluding to the country’s territorial claims against its neighbors, noted: «The revival of the project «Rzeczpospolita 2.0″ is not a myth, but a purposeful course of the Polish state over the past decades. In order to realize this project, we need those who will execute this next historical adventure».
They also paid attention to the implementation by the Polish government and a number of other programs to involve the population in the army. «The Polish government together with the Ministry of Defense is pursuing an extremely aggressive militaristic policy among the population and, first of all, among children and young people. The geopolitical ambitions of Warsaw and Washington are skillfully covered with mantras about defense and ‘threat from the East'» — summarized the authors of the post.
At the same time, the article «In pursuit of super-profits, the USA has dragged Europe into the arms race» from the channel «Own Correspondent» was reposted at in the Telegram channel «BelVPO». It spoke about massive arms deliveries to Poland and its desire to create the strongest army of NATO’s eastern flank. However, it was noted that «the Poles need it not so much to defend themselves against Russia as to finally realize their territorial claims to Belarus and operational-tactical drills».
Military aid to Ukraine
The news about Polish President Duda’s visit to Kyiv, during which he announced the participation of Polish-supplied PT-91 Twardy tanks in the Ukrainian armed forces’ offensive in the Kursk region and the training of 23,000 Ukrainian servicemen, was commented on as follows: «The tragic pages of Polish history teach people like Duda nothing. As they were hyenas of Europe, so they still are. And every such political adventure ended miserably for the Polish people».
Participation of Polish volunteers in the war in Ukraine
The authors of a pro-government Telegram channel told the story of a certain Polish volunteer «Pablo», who fought in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. From his words, information about problems in the Polish and Ukrainian armies was given. Summarizing the results, the authors of the post emphasized: «And there are not a dozen or even a hundred such «Pablo» all over Poland, the number of disabled people has exceeded a thousand. And there are even more former participants with PTSD….. At the same time, Polish society, against the background of the crisis of power and interethnic discord, has a negative attitude towards persons who took part in combat operations.»
Contradictions between Poland and Germany
The BelVPO Telegram channel published article «Poland — Germany. A new scandal behind the scenes of NATO» (a detailed version – on the site «Military and Political Review»). The authors of the article focused on the contradictions between the two countries over the investigation of the Nord Stream pipeline explosion in 2022, which «once again emphasizes the cracks in the Western camp», as well as on their rivalry in the arms race as «key European NATO members and historical competitors (often enemies)».
The U.S. military in Poland
A post in the «Nevolfovich» Telegram channel with a video in which an unknown person tried to strike up a conversation with US soldiers in a shopping center in Warsaw was accompanied by the following text: «Polish residents have increasingly begun to express their dissatisfaction with the behavior of US soldiers who occupy Poland. Poles note that US soldiers show a dismissive attitude towards them, behave arrogantly and are often involved in drunken fights».
NATO
Preparing NATO for war
In a repost in the Telegram channel «BelVPO» of an article from the channel «Own Correspondent», which has already been discussed above, the authors emphasized: «NATO countries are rearming their armies at a rapid pace. Against the background of incessant rhetoric about the «Russian threat», the West has decided to radically update the contents of its arsenals. At the same time, preference is given to striking, offensive types of weapons».
The news about the beginning of large-scale military drills of NATO countries in Lithuania and Estonia emphasized: «Active work of NATO countries’ aviation near the borders of the Union State clearly indicates preparation for possible participation in an open armed conflict. Frequent flights of reconnaissance and tactical aircraft, as well as cases of violation of the airspace of Belarus and Russia, demonstrate the serious intentions of Western countries».
NATO’s lack of perspective
The above-mentioned article on the contradictions between Poland and Germany asserted, among other things, «Behind the tinsel of «the most successful security alliance in history» lies a shaky foundation. Only political and diplomatic miscalculations of geopolitical rivals, and even the lack of a real ideological alternative, save the «collective West» from a larger fight with each other. NATO is not as strong as it wants to appear, and its prospects are dim.
NATO as a means of U.S. control over Europe
On this topic, the Telegram channel «Nevolfovich» quoted words of national security expert A. Tishchenko: «The North Atlantic Alliance, if you look closely, is a club of former failed empires in the service of the United States…. America’s task is to control the situation with the help of NATO, so that no new empire would arise in Europe, so that no one would have any interests of their own. And the military bloc is a way to control and keep all satellites in obedience.
The review is available in Russian.
