Poland
Migration crisis
Germany announced the introduction of temporary border controls at all land borders from September 16 to curb illegal migration. As it was noted, after this the Polish leadership had grievances and now «Polish border guards (well, and any local enterprising citizens) will have fewer opportunities to throw unwanted refugees to Germany». At the same time, it was emphasized that «Warsaw is deprived of the levers of pressure on the EU, as well as of the money flows, which are brought by covering the smuggling of illegal immigrants through the territory of Poland».
The creation of a «buffer zone» with a ban on staying at the border between Poland and Belarus, which was extended on 11 September, continued to be criticized. For example, the «GRANITZA FM | Facts and Opinions» Telegram channel drew attention to the fact that UNESCO urged the Polish authorities to refrain from further erection of the barrier infrastructure, as it has a negative impact on the animals and plants of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. «It is doubtful that the Polish government, obsessed with militant rhetoric, will heed UNESCO’s recommendations,» the channel’s authors emphasized.
In parallel, the topic for a separate post was critical comments of Polish human rights activists from Granica Group, which helps refugees at the border. As reported, the organization spoke «against the expansion of the zone of violence and lawlessness» and also stated: «The buffer zone on the border with Belarus serves mainly to hide the incompetence of the services and violations of the law.
Also against the background of the migration crisis, Poland and the Baltic states were accused of pursuing their own political and military goals. Among them: 1) deliberate intimidation of their citizens by the threat of «a glut of migrants» (it was noted that Poles had already «managed to brainwash them to some extent»); 2) using the situation to obtain additional funding from the West.
Criticism of the Polish Army and Ministry of Defense
In response to the news about Poland’s plans to create its own ammunition production in the next 2.5 years, it was emphasized: «The emptied arsenals and ammunition depots of the Polish Army imply difficulties in providing almost two hundred thousand troops with the organization of OPT [operational and combat training — ed.] activities, not to mention the conduct of combat operations».
As an example of criticizing the combat efficiency of the Polish army, one can also cite the coverage of the incident with Polish paratroopers, who during parachute jumps, due to strong wind, landed in a residential sector and damaged the roof of a house. The video of the incident was published in the «Belarusian Front» Telegram channel under the headline «Polish Troops Prepare to Defeat Belarus in Three Days».
Militarization and preparation for war
The Polish Defense Ministry has planned to buy 400 JASSM missiles with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers from the United States. The Nevolfovich Telegram channel called the deal «a deadly purchase that clearly does not carry peaceful purposes.» «Poland is escalating the situation more and more every day, but it forgets that it will have to answer for every action,» the authors of the post summarized.
Poland’s Defense Ministry had to postpone construction of an Army airbase at the Svidnik airfield because of the settlement of a protected species of gopher tortoise in the area, prompting propagandists to draw the following conclusions: «Most likely this story is being used to expand the territory of the airbase so that servicemen from NATO countries can stay there. Our neighbor resorts to any methods and forms to increase military potential».
In the opinion of one of the pro-government telegraph channels, the course of militarization was also the reason for the accident in Warsaw, during which a tractor fell under the sidewalk tiles: «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?
At the same time, in response to information about a protest of miners and energy workers in Warsaw, demanding the preservation of jobs and higher wages, it was stated: «While the government allocates millions of dollars for «defense» and armament, Poles survive by supporting the country’s energy and industry».
Military aid to Ukraine and participation in the war with the Russian Federation
Polish Foreign Minister R. Sikorski was actively criticized after a video with his participation appeared from Russian pranksters who introduced themselves as former Ukrainian President Poroshenko. For example, in the Telegram channel «Belarusian Front» published a post with the title «The desire to do it is zero: Polish Foreign Ministry on the defense of Ukraine». The text quoted the minister from a video clip of the pranksters, where he voiced concerns about the wider support of Ukrainians in the war with Russia. Аlso drew attention to Minister R. 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 boss in the region».
At the same time, during a visit to the headquarters of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade in Lublin, Lithuanian President H.Nauseda said that Poles and Lithuanians were ready to train Ukrainian volunteers on the basis of the brigade. On this basis, the BelVPO Telegram channel notedthat «Poland and Lithuania are the main agitators of the war to the last Ukrainian».
At the same time, a pro-regime television channel accused Poles who are fighting as part of the Ukrainian armed forces of committing war crimes. In the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, they allegedly «loot and beat civilians».
Anti-American rhetoric
A video with anti-American statements by the odious Polish politician G. Braun was also distributed. To the U.S. Secretary of State, who was visiting Poland, he said: «Blinken, go home as soon as possible. Get out of here! We don’t want you here. We don’t want Polish people to pay and die for your wars.»
NATO
Preparing NATO for war
In the issue of the ATN program «Disposition» of September 13, the North Atlantic Alliance was criticized for holding of the largest drills «Steady Defender 2024» since the Cold War (completed as early as May 31), in which 90 thousand servicemen from all 32 member states of the bloc took part. As the presenter noted, despite the declared defensive intentions, NATO is «practicing offensive themes, with the red-hot negativity getting closer and closer to Belarus.
At the same time, the Telegram channel «BelVPO» drew attention to the ongoing operational and combat training of the bloc’s troops, including in Sweden, Poland and the Baltic States. «Against the background of ostentatious drills, NATO is conducting maneuvers, which show the seriousness of their aggressive intentions to unleash conflict with the Union State,» the authors summarized.
Possible breakup of NATO
An article predicting the forthcoming split of NATO was published in one of the pro-government Telegram channels. It was emphasized 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».
NATO’s involvement in the war in Ukraine
The «Belarusian Front» Telegram channel cited videos of Putin’s statements and those of Russian Ambassador to the UN V. Nebenzi of similar content, with the message that Ukrainians should not use Western long-range precision weapons against Russia, as this would mean direct participation of NATO in the conflict and would cause a corresponding reaction.
The review is available in Russian.
