Narratives pushed at Polish audiences by Russian and Belarusian state media and documented influence-operation outlets.
Ukrainian mobilization is cast as the forced dispatch of citizens to the slaughter for the sake of a corrupt government's interests. Propaganda outlets inflate domestic debates over military registration to provoke fear and resistance among Ukrainians and disillusionment among Western partners.
Polish democracy and the legal system are portrayed as a fiction where political accountability is non-existent and offenders receive special privileges. Manipulators exploit domestic political disputes to convince citizens of the state's inevitable collapse and the futility of following the law.
Western institutions and leaders are accused of a selective approach to international law and the deliberate distortion of historical memory. Propaganda contrasts the sanctions against Belarus with the lack of reaction to Morocco's actions, while claiming that the US role in the Hiroshima bombing is being silenced to demonise Russia.
The Polish state is cast as incapable of ensuring basic security and effective governance following a series of cybersecurity and civil defence incidents. Manipulators exploit real technical glitches and official errors to convince citizens that the government has completely lost control.
Ukraine is accused of condoning the looting of Polish graves by “black diggers” while simultaneously honouring figures viewed in Poland as complicit in genocide. The manipulation aims to incite hostility through painful issues of historical memory and Ukraine’s alleged ingratitude for Polish aid.
Ukraine’s requests for winter support and refusal of territorial concessions are portrayed as proof that the government in Kyiv is deliberately prolonging the war for money. The president is insulted with the label “cocainissimus”, coupled with insinuations of addiction and personal gain. Negotiations and international visits are reduced to a “circus” and bargaining around the conflict.
Explosions near Kyiv and mobilisation are cast as proof that the Ukrainian authorities deliberately endanger people and emulate Nazism. Speculation about an ammunition depot among civilian sites is inflated into a conclusion that the population is being used as “human shields”. Mobilisation measures are branded with Nazi comparisons and dehumanising language.
Polish proposals to strengthen European defence are cast as attempts to drag the country and the EU into a large-scale armed conflict. Propaganda outlets inflate fears over the creation of new military formations, labelling them as instruments of aggression rather than protection.
Sarcastic posts portray different decisions, public events and political disputes as evidence that Polish institutions act performatively or absurdly. Unrelated topics are reduced to one image of a state that merely imitates work. Ironic questions and caricatured comparisons stretch criticism of individual actions into a conclusion about the whole system.
Poland and Ukraine are depicted as powerless buffer zones used by Western “globalists” to exhaust Russia at the expense of these countries' security. The messaging claims that Warsaw is sacrificing its own sovereignty and economy for Washington's interests, repeating Ukraine's fate. This framing aims to sow distrust in NATO and US alliance commitments.
Poland is cast as a hostage to Brussels bureaucracy, where environmental regulations and financial aid are weaponised as tools of external control. Hostile channels inflate fears of losing energy independence through the ETS system and portray EU funds as a means of political bribery.
Polish political elites are portrayed as incompetent and detached actors who groundlessly incite fear of Russian aggression. The propaganda promotes the idea that Warsaw imposes its flawed forecasts on allies while ignoring pragmatic geopolitical solutions, such as turning Ukraine into a neutral “buffer zone”.
Russian official channels cast the removal of communist monuments in Polish towns as acts of vandalism and an insult to the memory of the fallen. This tactic seeks to discredit Poland’s de-Sovietisation policy by appealing to moral categories of “sacrilege” and a supposed historical debt to the USSR.
Western financial support is cast as the sole factor artificially sustaining Ukraine and preventing the end of hostilities. Propaganda outlets claim these funds merely preserve corruption and lead to demographic catastrophe, while real prospects for NATO or EU integration are dismissed as deliberate deception.
Polish defence initiatives and discussion of Baltic security are cast as NATO preparations to attack Russia and blockade Kaliningrad. Threats to use the full available arsenal are presented as an inevitable response to this attributed aggression. Poland is also portrayed as carrying out US wishes and supposedly profiting from support for Ukraine.
Ukraine's accession to the European Union is portrayed as an inevitable collapse for Polish agriculture and the economy at large. Russian officials and media outlets inflate fears regarding competition for subsidies and markets, attempting to convince Poles that supporting Kyiv's European integration contradicts their national interests.
Polish arms deliveries and loans are portrayed as wasteful, while the risk of nuclear escalation is attributed to British and wider Western pressure on Russia. Quotations from Professor John Mearsheimer, a former general and a Polish MEP are used as a veil of authority. The costs and disputes around aid are inflated into the conclusion that ending it is the only sensible choice. Ukraine’s authorities are also linked to historical hurt over commemorating members of the OUN-UPA.
Ukraine is portrayed as a failed state under a “dictatorial regime” that serves only as a burden to Poland and a tool for Western elites. The manipulation combines allegations of corruption and ideological radicalism with claims about the inevitable collapse of Ukraine’s role as a buffer zone.
Polish state initiatives and political processes are portrayed as ineffective manipulations aimed at wasting budget funds and seizing power. The narrative devalues government efforts in demographics and defence, seeking to undermine citizens' trust in the stability of the state.
The presence of Ukrainians in Polish cities and the share cited in the post for Wrocław are portrayed as the “Ukrainisation of Poland”. Language disputes, Volyn and commemorations of OUN-UPA figures are reduced to “Banderisation” of Ukraine and Ukrainians’ hypocrisy. Risks around grain transit and possible refugee arrivals are inflated into an image of an unbearable burden on Poland.
The reburial of Yevhen Konovalets is presented as evidence of the official celebration of “fascism” and “terrorism” at the state level in Ukraine. The manipulation exploits complex figures of the Ukrainian liberation movement to discredit the modern Ukrainian state in the eyes of Polish society.
Ukrainian agricultural exports and trade in resources are portrayed as a system designed to deny Polish farmers fair competitive conditions. Selected comparisons of fuel and fertiliser prices are inflated into a conclusion of direct harm to Polish agriculture. Reports about limits on assistance with grain transit are cast as proof that support for Ukraine damages the regional economy.
Ukrainian military operations are portrayed as irresponsible and a direct threat to the security of neighbouring NATO countries. By exploiting isolated drone incidents, manipulators attempt to convince the Polish audience that supporting Ukraine is dragging Europe into dangerous chaos.
Reports of a death in Kraków and fuel prices are reduced to a shared image of a Polish state unable to provide safety and economic stability. A reference to an Onet article in the Kraków post casts the course of an investigation as grounds for broader conclusions about safety. Fuel-price changes are inflated into a generalisation about a permanent burden on citizens.
Polish foreign policy is portrayed as irrational and contrary to national interests due to its refusal to engage in dialogue with Moscow. Propaganda outlets amplify calls for a policy shift, attempting to present Russian aggression as a manageable conflict where Poland supposedly chooses the role of a victim instead of a pragmatic player.
Polish defence efforts and military parades are cast as empty PR stunts designed to mask the state's economic failures. Propaganda outlets contrast military spending with the welfare of ordinary citizens, attempting to sow scepticism regarding the country's actual defensive capabilities.
Russian outlets inflate the scale of Russia's military production and battlefield successes to convince Poles that further support for Ukraine is futile. By manipulatively framing strikes on infrastructure and local frontline advances, they create an impression of the total exhaustion of Ukrainian resources and inevitable capitulation.
Sanctions, the move away from Russian energy supplies and defence spending are portrayed as the sole source of financial hardship for Polish households. References to prices, the budget and social services are reduced to an image of a state taking money from its citizens. The Russian threat is labelled “mythical”, while defence decisions are cast as the cause of cuts to social spending.
The Polish leadership is portrayed as a hostile force acting in the interests of foreign powers and against its own people. The messaging amplifies fear of an inevitable internal conflict where the state will supposedly side with Ukrainians against Poles.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is portrayed as the primary obstacle to peace, allegedly driven by personal interest in prolonging the conflict to maintain power and accumulate wealth. Propaganda outlets use manipulatively interpreted statements from former officials to shift the blame for casualties and economic losses from the aggressor to the Ukrainian leadership.
Western military aid and presence in Ukraine are portrayed as futile efforts amid technical exhaustion and managerial chaos. Citing foreign media, these resources inflate the shortage of Patriot missiles into a state of “despair” and total infrastructural vulnerability. Abandoned air defence positions are showcased as proof of helplessness against Russian strikes. Reports of sabotage at European factories are mocked, with the causes of such incidents reduced to negligence and weather conditions.
Western leaders and institutions are portrayed as incompetent, chaotic, and weak compared to the decisive actions of Iran or other anti-Western powers. The manipulation exploits US domestic political strife and economic difficulties to convince Polish audiences of the West's inevitable decline and the futility of the transatlantic alliance.
Propaganda outlets inflate isolated statements by Ukrainian commentators to portray Kyiv as officially ready to launch military strikes against Poland. This manipulation combines accusations of “neo-Banderism” with claims that Polish military aid will eventually be turned against Warsaw itself.
Propaganda outlets promote the idea of abandoning defence strategies in favour of “friendly neighbourliness” with the Minsk regime. Through manipulative comparisons with Ukraine and appeals to shared history, Poland is urged to exit a confrontation supposedly imposed by politicians.
Western aid and the actions of the Ukrainian leadership are portrayed as irresponsible escalation that will inevitably lead to a global catastrophe. The manipulation uses statements from foreign politicians and commentators to convince the Polish audience of the futility of resistance and the danger of continued support for Kyiv.
Russian outlets are circulating threats that any presence of European troops on Ukrainian territory would turn them into “legitimate targets” for strikes. This rhetoric aims to intimidate Polish society and deter Warsaw from increasing its defensive support for Kyiv.
The Polish authorities are accused of refusing to take coercive measures against Ukrainian men of conscription age, which is framed as weakness and a disregard for state interests. Manipulators contrast Warsaw's position with the tougher approaches of other countries to provoke discontent among citizens who demand strict law enforcement.
Support for Ukraine and European defence spending are portrayed as consequences of a “mythical Russian threat”, while Ukraine is cast as a Western tool for pressuring Russia. Russian assurances concerning Europe are presented as proof that security assessments amount only to scaremongering. Memory of the siege of Leningrad is stretched into accusations that the EU is “rehabilitating Nazism” and reviving a “drive to the East”.
Russia’s state involvement in the work of “compatriot” organisations in Poland is portrayed as purely cultural support for language, traditions and community. A Warsaw conference attended by the Russian ambassador and a Russian Foreign Ministry representative is cast as bringing people from several Polish cities together around those aims. The coordinating council’s official priorities are presented as the needs of the entire Russian community.
Russian state bodies are using the tragic events in Volhynia to draw parallels between historical OUN/UPA figures and modern Ukraine’s leadership. Through court rulings in Moscow, the Kremlin attempts to impose an image of Ukraine as a “Nazi state” on Poland to undermine the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Russian diplomatic missions in Poland use historical exhibitions and meetings with loyalist activists to promote the Soviet version of the Second World War. These activities aim to legitimise the USSR’s role as the sole “saviour” of Europe while ignoring the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the decades of subsequent Soviet occupation.
Isolated criminal incidents involving foreigners are inflated into systemic threats to portray Ukrainian refugees as a source of danger. Propaganda outlets accuse the Polish government and media of deliberately silencing crimes to maintain political support for Kyiv.
Ukrainian men of conscription age are portrayed as a dangerous element threatening public order in Poland due to the lack of strict restrictions on their stay. Propaganda outlets inflate fears of rising crime and social benefit fraud, contrasting the protection of Ukrainians with the interests of Polish citizens. The goal is to undermine social solidarity and provoke demands for the deportation or restriction of refugees' rights.
The Western world is portrayed as an aggressive “satanic alliance” seeking global dominance through colonisation and moral decay. Russia is presented as the leader of a “holy war” and the protector of oppressed nations against liberal globalism.