Poland
In this direction the main topics were: militarization of the country and preparation for war with Belarus and Russia, criticism of the combat efficiency of the Polish army, the situation with migrants on the border with Belarus. At the same time, the issues of providing military aid to Ukraine, contradictions in Polish-Ukrainian relations, as well as Poland’s dependence on the USA and other Western countries were touched upon. Special attention was paid to the flooding in the south of Poland and criticism of the actions of the country’s leadership to overcome its consequences.
Criticism of the Polish Army and Ministry of Defense
Through the prism of accidents involving the local military, the idea of the weak fighting ability of the Polish armed forces was actively conveyed. For example, in response to the information about the death of a 30-year-old military man in the town of Skarszewy as a result of an accident in the telegram channel «Nevolfowicz» wrote: «If Polish servicemen cannot cope with a car on a flat stretch of road, what can we say about military equipment and weapons. They can only rattle and break them».
They continued to broadcast a message about the critical state of the Polish army in the «Belarusian Front» Telegram channel under the headline «We have ‘concrete’ in the army, poor organization, officers don’t give a shit about anything and our equipment is in a faulty state» — this quote allegedly belongs to a Polish military officer who wrote to the editorial office. At the same time, in response to the news about Poland’s plans to create its own ammunition production, it was noted: «The emptied arsenals and ammunition depots of the Polish Army suggest difficulties in providing the almost two hundred thousand troops with the organization of OCT [operational and combat training – ed.] activities, not to mention the conduct of combat operations».
Propagandists doubted the professionalism of the Polish air defense forces and the army in general and the failure to find a drone that flew into Polish airspace from Ukraine on August 26. On this occasion, the «Nevolfowicz» telegram channel gloated: «Duda wanted to shoot down something else over Kiev. They can’t even detect it.»
Once again, was also reminded of the Ministry of Defense’s plans to call 200,000 reservists to military training sessions this year and that in case of non-appearance, violators would face a huge fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years. At the same time, it was emphasized: «This is the true face of democracy and freedom in Poland: if you don’t want to — we will force you, if you can’t — we will push you».
Militarization and preparation for war
News about Poland’s purchases of various types of armaments was regularly published, with parallel accusations of Poles for escalation of the situation. For example, the delivery from the USA of 400 JASSM missiles with a range of up to 1000 km was called «a deadly purchase, which clearly does not carry peaceful purposes», and also noted: «Poland is escalating the situation more and more every day, but forgets that every action will have to be answered for». In parallel, it was stated, that the annual international defense industry exhibition MSPO in Kielce is held «to please the outrageous militarism of the Polish government» and that the strengthening of the military industry of Poland and other European countries «may be related to their preparation for participation in a full-scale Russia-NATO conflict».
At the same time, there was a clear message that too much money was being spent on the army to the detriment of the economy and the standard of living of Poles. For example, the course of militarization was considered to be the reason for the accident in Warsaw, during which a tractor fell under a sidewalk tile: «When all the money in the country is spent on the Polish Army: buying new weapons and recruiting conscripts…, where will the money for quality social projects and infrastructure for ordinary citizens come from? And this was the comment regarding the protest of miners and energy workers demanding to keep their jobs and increase their wages: «While the government allocates millions of dollars for «defense» and armament, Poles survive by supporting the country’s energy and industry.»
Against the background of the «holiday» of September 17, drawing historical parallels with the period of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1918-1939), the pro-government media focused on accusations of modern Poland in aggressive actions against Belarus. For example, it was emphasized that the Polish authorities «do not abandon their attempts to return the «eastern Kresy» [Western Belarus and Ukraine, as well as a part of Lithuania – ed.]), at least into their sphere of influence, at most — to change their borders at the expense of the Kresy«. At the same time, it was noted that Poles «benefit from any instability of the eastern neighbor or any occasion that could result in the loss of territorial integrity of Belarus.
Migration crisis
The coverage of the situation with migrants on the border with Belarus continued, emphasizing the illegality of the actions of Polish law enforcers. For example, after the official entry into force of the law simplifying the rules of use of weapons by the military and border guards on August 31, the TV channel «GRANITZA FM | Facts and Opinions» wrote: «Polish border guards started «legal shooting of refugees». And in connection with the extension of the buffer zone on the border between Poland and Belarus with a stay ban for 90 days from September 11 , it was stated that «in conjunction with the adopted law «On Killing Refugees» [mentioned above – ed.], this zone is nothing but a big shooting range for live targets».
At the same time, the authors of propaganda media drew attention to the concerns of Polish human rights activists and ordinary citizens about the situation on the border. For example, there were cited critical comments of the refugee support organization Granica Group, which spoke «against the expansion of the zone of violence and lawlessness», and also noted: «The buffer zone on the border with Belarus serves mainly to conceal the incompetence of the services and violations of the law». At the same time, the news about the premiere of a movie about a Polish family helping migrants was presented as an indicator of Poles’ disagreement with the policy pursued by the authorities at the border: «Not everyone in Poland wants to be involved in human rights violations.
The strengthening of security measures at the border has also been criticized because of the negative impact on local flora and fauna. For example, a pro-government Telegram channel drew ‘s attention to a call from operational-tactical drills to refrain from further construction of barrier infrastructure. At the same time, the authors summarized: «It is doubtful that the Polish government, obsessed with militant rhetoric, will heed the recommendations.
They also reacted to Germany’s decision to introduce temporary border controls at all land borders from September 16 in order to limit illegal migration. It was noted that after this «Polish border guards (and local enterprising citizens) will have fewer opportunities to dump unwanted refugees in Germany», and also emphasized: now «Warsaw is deprived of leverage against the EU, as well as of the money flows that are brought by covering smuggling of illegal immigrants through Polish territory».
Flooding in southern Poland
In response to the flooding, army units were sent to the south of the country to provide assistance. Ukraine was named as one of the culprits in the problems encountered in overcoming the consequences of the disaster. For example, in the telegram channel «Belarusian Front» wrote: «Servicemen complain about the lack of equipment, which was previously transferred to Ukraine. As a result, Poland is forced to turn to other countries for support.» The Ukrainians are allegedly also to blame for the fact that the money intended for protective hydraulic structures was regularly diverted to them for military aid, and since 2014 Polish taxpayers have invested between 15 and 24 billion euros in the neighboring country.
Against the backdrop of overcoming the consequences of the flooding, claims against President A. Duda and Prime Minister D. Tusk were actively voiced. The former allegedly withdrew from participation in solving the problem and stayed in Warsaw for the harvest festival, while the head of the government and his team were accused of a complete lack of coordination and of «building their careers on empty promises and loud words, but failing to provide real protection for citizens in critical moments». In parallel, it was reported that Poland could face uncontrolled spread of deadly viruses due to the flooding of burial sites of those who died of dangerous diseases (cholera, plague, smallpox and anthrax). The reason for the inability to ensure the safety of citizens was cited as «infighting in the ruling circles and unrestrained spending by politicians on ‘war toys’«.
The Polish army was also criticized. Thus, in connection with information about the activities of looting groups masquerading as soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the affected areas, it was suggested that, using this information as a cover, the military leadership was «trying to conceal the facts of looting by real servicemen«.
Contradictions between Poland and Ukraine
The pro-regime media regularly reported on the problems in the relations between the two countries. For example, the article on the website of «BelVPO» emphasized the existence of deep historical contradictions, which in the current realities only aggravated. The goals of modern Poland in relation to Ukraine were described as follows: «In the medium term it is a demonstration to the masters from Washington of readiness to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian in exchange for the supply of weapons so adored by Poles. And in the long term, it is a return of the ‘Eastern Crosses’.» At the same time, the authors of the «Nevolfowicz» telegram channel wrote the following on this occasion: «Poles see Ukrainians as competitors, and now their position with regard to the «non-independent republic» is becoming confrontational, as the Anglo-Saxons’ wallets are not rubber».
Military aid to Ukraine
Poles’ military assistance to Ukraine was actively criticized. For example, Foreign Minister R. Sikorski’s statement of September 6 that Poland has the right to shoot down missiles in Ukrainian airspace if they threaten nuclear power plants was commented on as follows: «This is already crossing all lines, no matter how far they are drawn. Sikorski actually announced Poland’s participation in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.» also drew attention to Sikorski’s visit to Kyiv, during which he announced the possible transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian armed forces. This promise was described as «purest profanity» and the trip itself as «a demonstration of who is the master in the region».
At the same time, the idea was conveyed that Poland would not benefit from Ukraine’s victory in the war with Russia. The reasons for this were given: 1) historical contradictions, first of all, the issue of the Volyn massacre; 2) economic benefits from Ukrainian refugees willing to work for small salaries; 3) the desire to continue to receive from the West the latest weapons to replace the old ones supplied to the Ukrainians.
Poland’s dependence on Western countries
There were also a number of publications that emphasized Poland’s dependent position. For example, the words of Polish President A. Duda at the UN General Assembly meeting about the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia were called «humiliation and shame of the puppet regime» of the Americans, and in response to the news about the arrival of a large consignment of heavy equipment to the American military base in Powidzie wrote the following: «The Americans continue to pull down combat and special equipment of armored brigades to their puppets in Poland to prepare for war with Russia and Belarus. Poland is seen as a springboard for the start of hostilities».
NATO
Propaganda narratives about the NATO bloc focused on the following topics: the escalation of the situation and the North Atlantic Alliance’s preparation for war in Eastern Europe, the possible consequences of Ukraine’s use of Western-made long-range missiles against Russia, the bloc’s creation of an offensive bridgehead in the Baltic States, and a possible split in NATO.
NATO preparations for war with Belarus and Russia
NATO was regularly accused of increased activity near the borders of Russia and Belarus. For example, paying attention to the ongoing activities of operational and combat training of the bloc’s troops in European countries, the Telegram channel «BelVPO» wrote: «Against the background of ostentatious drills, NATO conducts maneuvers, which show the seriousness of their aggressive intentions to unleash conflict with the Union State. It was noted that such an escalation «may prompt the political leadership of the Union State to take tough retaliatory measures, which will lead to serious consequences for all parties to the conflict».
NATO and the Baltic States
The pro-government media also found signs that the North Atlantic Alliance is creating an offensive bridgehead in the three Baltic countries. Thus, in the NATO drills that started in September on the territory of Lithuania another manifestation of preparation for war was considered: «In order to prevent the defeat of Kiev, NATO is actively preparing another anti-Russian bridgehead in the Baltics. Among other things, it highly assesses the risks of using nuclear weapons against the alliance’s facilities.» At the same time, the following was stated: «The drills, based on the concept of ‘deterrence’, demonstrate NATO’s readiness for a possible conflict with Russia. In its turn, the Baltic Sea region plays the role of a key «bridgehead» in this, which will be utilized in the event of a direct clash between the alliance countries and Russia».
Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles
NATO Secretary General J. Stoltenberg’s statement that authorizing Kiev to strike deep into Russia with long-range Western-made missiles would not be an escalating red line was commented on as follows: «The irresponsibility of certain Western officials borders on madness. The world is already on the brink of a global war, and the egregious scoundrels and war criminals in NATO are looking for red lines.» Simultaneously, in the program of ATN «Disposition» of September 22, Putin’s words were quoted that such a measure would mean a direct entry of the North Atlantic Alliance into the conflict of the Russian Federation, and it was also stressed: «A new spiral of tension in the region may affect Belarus as well».
Possible breakup of NATO
An article predicting the forthcoming split of NATO was published in the «BelVPO» Telegram channel. It was noted that «the departure of the United States from Europe is not a question of ‘if’, but a question of ‘when and how'», so European countries «need to realize that the Atlantic alliance is no longer a guarantee of security and everyone will be responsible for themselves».
