It Is Not True that Poland Caused Direct Conflict with Russia
The post we are fact-checking falsely claims that Poland is causing a direct conflict with Russia. Poland is not at war with Russia, but is doing all that it can to help Ukraine defend itself in the war that Russia waged against Ukraine once, completely unprovoked, Russia performed a military invasion of Ukraine in Februry 2022. Since the beginning of the invasion Poland has welcomed most of the refugees – more than any other European country – while also providing a range of benefits such as access to healthcare and education along with employment possibilities. Nothing of what Poland is doing is “open hostile action against Russia” and is not “causing direct conflict with Russia”
We are fact-checking a Facebook post (Screenshot here) claiming that:
Poland is preparing for a war with Russia?
Poland is causing direct conflict with Russia, stated Oleg Soskin, former adviser to the former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.
“Poland is on the way strengthening its military efforts… It is openly performing hostile actions against Russia. The latest events are direct challenge for Putin”, thinks the expert.
According to him, Warsaw is purchasing weapons and increasing its army to prepare for direct confrontation with Moscow. In addition, he stressed that the Polish Government was now running provocative politics towards the Russian diplomacy mission.
It is not true that Poland is causing direct conflict with Russia. Russia performed military invasion of Ukraine, completely unprovoked, in February 2022. In March 2023, Polish Ambassador to France, Jan Emeryk Rosciszewski, stated:
It is not NATO, Poland or Slovakia that are exerting pressure, but Russia, which has invaded Ukraine. Russia that is usurping its territories. Russia that is killing its people. And Russia that kidnaps Ukrainian children. So, either Ukraine defends its independence today, or we have to enter this conflict. Because our main values, which were the basis of our civilization and our culture, will be threatened. Therefore, we will have no choice but to enter the conflict.
After this announcement, the Polish Embassy in France published a statement explaining:
If you listen carefully to the entire conversation, it becomes clear that no direct involvement of Poland in the conflict was announced, but only warned about the consequences that a Ukrainian defeat could have: the possibility of a Russian attack or the involvement of other Central European countries – the Baltic States and Poland, the Polish Embassy in France wrote.
In its statement, the Embassy stressed that Ambassador Jan Emeryk Rosciszewski is making it clear that Poland is not at war at the moment, but is doing everything that it can to help Ukraine defend itself in the war that Russia waged against Ukraine.
The post we are fact-checking is falsely claiming that ”Poland is openly performing hostile actions against Russia”.
Since the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Poland has beен a key NATO ally in confronting Moscow’s aggression and an indispensable US partner in the region. More than 7 million Ukrainians have crossed the Polish border as refugees. Today, Ukraine and NATO allies rely on Poland for the delivery of weapons and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine. This role of Poland cannot be treated as direct confrontation with Russia, but as help for Ukraine and its right to defend its territorial integrity.
As the Atlantic Council says, ever since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, politicians in Warsaw have been warning Europe of the growing threat posed by a resurgent and revisionist Russia.
Poland has in many ways set the standards for Europe’s humanitarian response to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Since the invasion begun, Poland has welcomed more Ukrainian refugees than any other European country, while also providing a range of benefits such as access to healthcare and education along with employment possibilities.
Nothing of what Poland is doing is not “open hostile action against Russia” and is not “causing direct conflict with Russia”. Polish assistance for Ukraine would not have been necessary if Russia did not attack the sovereign and democractic state of Ukraine.
Regarding the part of the post claiming that ”Warsaw is purchasing weapons and increasing its army to prepare for direct confrontation with Moscow” – this represents a prediction. In addition, it is not forbidden for any country to prepare for war if threatened by danger. What is a problem in international relations is performing aggression.
Last September, in the UN General Assembly’s meeting, Polish President, Andrzej Duda, stated:
This is not just a regional conflict. Russia’s war against Ukraine is a potential source of global conflagration. This war will affect our countries as well as yours, if it hasn’t already.
The response by Poland to the Russian invasion creates incredible ties between the peoples of Poland and Ukraine. These two nations are united due to the danger coming from Russia. Public opinion polls in Ukraine always point out to the fact that Poland is Ukraine’s closest partner.
On the 28th September 2022, in the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Polish Foreign Affairs Minister, Zbigniew Rau, inter alia, stated:
Ukraine suborned and subordinated automatically would change Russia’s status to an empire. Regaining control over Ukraine, its people, resources and its access to the Black Sea, would mean that Moscow once again became a threat to Europe and transatlantic security. In the mode of thinking of my personal friend, the late President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, who on many occasions warned us that the bouts of Russian imperialsm would not stop in Tbilisi or Kyiv but would reach the Baltic states and, finally, Poland. I would also like to add that Russia wouldn’t even stop there but it would threaten the life, well-being and core values of all Europeans and Americans. Russian imperialism would not stop on its own but must be stopped by a joint effort of the free world. Only by stopping imperialism together can Ukraine, Poland and the United States flourish. Most importantly, they will guarantee that future generation(s) will not experience the threat of authoritarian imperialism.
Due to all above-noted facts, we assess as untrue the claim that Poland caused direct conflict with Russia.
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