Russia will attempt to interfere in the Polish elections by spreading disinformation and provoking incidents between Poles and Ukrainians. Polish society and the authorities must begin preparing a response to these threats now.
This was stated by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and former Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016, during the discussion ‘The Future of Ukraine’ at the ‘Games of Freedom’ (Igrzyska Wolności) in Łódź, Poland.
“I am firmly convinced that Russia will undoubtedly interfere in your elections, without a doubt. And they have a lot of different resources and tools. As we have already mentioned, these include the internet, artificial intelligence and fakes. The Russians will certainly play the anti-Ukrainian card,” emphasised Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
According to him, Russian attempts to influence Polish society will not be limited to information campaigns. He warned of the threat of deliberate provocation of incidents between citizens of the two countries.
“They will sow hatred between us. And they will definitely try to capitalise on this. I believe that your government and your nation have to be ready and stand ready and, right now, to find an appropriate response to these kinds of challenges you are facing and we are facing,” noted the KSF Chairman, addressing the Polish people.
He also expressed his conviction that Ukraine must do everything possible to prevent Russia from having any pretext to spread anti-Ukrainian narratives in Poland and to stir up hostility between the two nations.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk thanked the Polish people for their support of Ukraine and emphasised the importance of preserving the Ukrainian-Polish alliance.
“Thank you for your support. Thank you for standing by Ukraine. Thank you for your contribution. And nobody, nobody will dismantle our union,” he stressed.