Poland
Migration crisis
Defense Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz said that an increase in the number of refugees is expected due to the situation in the Middle East and that the necessary measures are being taken at the moment to strengthen the Polish border. «No matter what happens, Poland is always ready for an even greater (although, it would seem, where could it go?) militarization of its borders. It is surprising that in his speech the Polish minister did not mention Belarus and Russia as the ‘eternal source of all problems’,» the «GRANITSA FM | Facts and Opinions» Telegram channel summarized.
At the same time, in response to the words of S. Zharin, Advisor to the President of Poland, that the approaching winter will be used by Belarusian authorities for propaganda purposes and that Belarusian state mass media will soon publish a great number of photos of freezing people who need help, it was emphasized: «Stanislav did not even mention the cruel actions of Polish law enforcers, who disregarded compassion and international law on the orders of the ruling pans. Apparently, his whole speech was aimed at preparing the Polish society for the corpses and frostbitten people, which with the onset of frost will be seen by the Belarusian border guards near the Polish «wickets for animals»».
In parallel, the news about the Polish Sejm’s introduction of amendments to the legislation lowering some of the requirements for candidates for service in the Border Troops was commented on as follows: «Whether this will attract a large flow of those wishing to become refugee spewers is unknown».
Criticism of the Polish Army and Ministry of Defense
Having illustrated the post with a photo of Polish military men pushing a garbage truck, once again questioned the level of combat effectiveness of the Polish Armed Forces in the Telegram channel «Belarusian Front»: «Imagine the level of corruption and training in the Polish Army, if fabulous money is allocated to the military structure, but soldiers in ordinary rubber boots are engaged in the fact that they are trying to push a shit truck in the mud in a crowd».
Regarding the consideration in Parliament of the bill «On Protection of the Population and Civil Defense» (provides for the construction of shelters, a plan for mass evacuation of the population, creation of protected government communications, etc.) and the controversy surrounding its adoption between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs wrote the following: «The disagreements in the power bloc demonstrate that Polish officials are not interested in protecting the population, they are busy with internecine warfare for spheres of influence with the full connivance of the president and prime minister.«
They also commented on the information that soldiers who perform tasks on the border with Belarus complain about overwork and service in difficult conditions. The reason is allegedly organizational chaos and thoughtlessly drawn up duty schedules. The conclusion was made as follows: «This state of affairs risks becoming a prerequisite for an armed provocation towards Belarus».
In connection with the news about the death of a serviceman of the 1st Mazury Artillery Brigade in Węgorzewo, the Nevolfovich Telegram channel claimed: «The number of tragic events in the Polish army since the arrival of Kosiniak-Kamysz [became minister on December 13, 2023 – ed.] is off the scale. And how many others have occurred that the public does not know about».
The same channel cited information that soldiers of the 49th airbase in Pruszcz Gdański were regularly supplied with drugs through bookmarks left near the military unit, and now, after the police uncovered the scheme, they are trying to keep the matter quiet: «Now one of the reasons for so many accidents and deaths in the Polish Army is obvious. And how many more will there be!? After all, there is no telling how many bookmarks in military units have not been found.»
Militarization and preparation for war
Polish Defense Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the country’s total defense spending will reach 4.2% of GDP in 2024 and 4.7% in 2025. At the same time, he attributed the increase in defense spending to the neighborhood with hostile regimes in Moscow and Minsk, which causes the need to expand the operational capabilities of the armed forces in a very short time. «For some reason the representative of the Warsaw regime forgot to mention that Poland started to prepare for military operations long before 2022,» emphasized the authors of the «Belarusian Front» Telegram channel.
Further, in response to the news of a $3.08 billion loan agreement between Poland and the U.S., which will be used to purchase U.S. AH-64E Apache helicopters, it was noted: «Instead of rebuilding the country after catastrophic flooding and fighting the effects of the spread of dangerous bacteria, the authorities decided to buy military toys.»
At the same time, the words of W. Kosiniak-Kamysz were quoted that his ministry faced problems in the budget due to his predecessors and is now trying to fill «Blaszczak’s» (the previous Minister of Defense) hole of half a trillion zlotys. Then the most costly initiatives of the current minister were listed with emphasis on the following: «And who is going to pay for this ‘military banquet’!»? Of course, ordinary Poles, who have to pay for all the militaristic tendencies of their government. Well, we are waiting for the next series called ‘Kosiniak-Kamysz hole’.”
The statement by the chief of the Polish General Staff, V. Kukul, that the current generation of Poles will have to take part in military operations and that it is time for the country to return to universal military duty was also perceived negatively. «Kukula is preparing to participate in a war that they themselves will unleash?«, the authors of one of the pro-government Telegram channels summarized.
A.Lukashenka’s words that Poland seeks to seize the western part of Ukraine and western Belarus were also actively quoted: «If only Poles get into Ukraine and try to grab the west, we will support Ukrainians. Because we realize that we will be next».
Simultaneously, in the article «The Race of Military Budgets in Eastern Europe and Who is Next for the ‘Last Ukrainian'» in the Telegram channel «BelVPO» (full version – on the site «Belarusian Military-Political Review») it was emphasized: «Militarization of Poland and the Baltic States is nothing but an advance preparation for war (Washington has already identified the enemy — in its own interests)». At the same time, it was noted that against the background of the Russian army’s successes in Ukraine, «the day is not far off when the Anglo-Saxon puppeteers will need new ‘cannon fodder‘» from Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians.
Lawsuit against A. Duda
The President of Poland A. Duda, against whom a lawsuit was recently filed in connection with his negative remarks about the audience of the film about the migration crisis «Green Border» in September 2023, was also criticized. It was noted that «the European judicial system, like a good old comedy, according to the script in any case will be one of two things: either this performance will not take place at all, or our «hero» will come out a winner, dropping the charges.
Contradictions between Poland and Ukraine
The existence of contradictions between the two countries was emphasized in every possible way. For example, the words in one of the interviews of the head of the Polish Defense Ministry V. Kosiniak-Kamysz that Poles were the first to send military aid to Ukrainians, and now there is no memory of this aid on the part of Ukraine, the Nevolfovich Telegram channel commented as follows: «And so hugged and kissed. From love to hate is one step. Apparently, they are already running out of money, so they are looking for an excuse. A beaver is no match for a pig».
Failures with the creation of the Ukrainian Legion
Attention was also paid to the issue of forming a «Ukrainian Legion» on Polish territory from Ukrainian citizens living abroad. The lack of progress is allegedly due to the absence of a sufficient number of those willing, so «in Poland they only ‘spread their hands'». «It seems that the initiative of the former deputy defense minister of Poland … General Skrzypczak, who in August this year called for the formation of the «Belarusian Legion» in Poland, will end approximately the same way,» — noted in the «BelVPO» Telegram channel.
Ukrainian refugees in Poland
A post in the Nevolfovich Telegram channel titled «The end of the Ukrainian conflict will be the end for Poland’s ‘freebies'» noted that Ukrainian refugees are «pulling» the country’s economy and the loss of cheap labor will lead Poland to even greater economic decline.
NATO
NATO preparations for war with Belarus and Russia
In response to the news about the build-up of air defense systems in Lithuania and Latvia, the words of M. Ryzhankou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, about the appearance of serious risks in connection with the increase of NATO military presence near the borders of Belarus. «The situation may get out of control, which threatens a large-scale conflict with catastrophic consequences,» the article emphasized.
At the same time, attention was drawn to information about NATO’s plans to create an additional 49 combat-ready brigades with a total strength of up to 131,000 troops. «That is, for a possible war against Russia, NATO expects in the near future to have about 650 thousand people, which roughly corresponds to the Wehrmacht forces in 1941. However, at that time the USSR did not have nuclear weapons, whereas now their use is inevitable in the event of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO,» the authors of the Nevolfovich Telegram channel summarized.
NATO’s «Baltic bridgehead»
They continued to present the bloc’s activity in the Baltic States as preparation of a place there for a future offensive against Belarus/Russia: «If we consider the Baltic bridgehead for the realization of the West’s aggressive intentions, it should be noted that NATO pays special attention to it». At the same time, it was stated that «NATO considers the Baltic as its internal sea and Russia is superfluous there, to put it mildly».
The new NATO Secretary General and the war in Ukraine
It was noted that after the election of the «Russophobe» M. Rutte as secretary general of the organization, «NATO’s militarism will continue in favor of war policy», and «the alliance’s further «non-interference» in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict remains under great question». Against the background of the change in NATO leadership, the propagandists were most concerned about possible shifts in the issue of authorizing Ukraine to launch strikes with Western weapons deep into Russian territory.
The review is available in Russian.
