The Russian narrative on Poland now centres on the protest of Polish carriers. Russians release information about this issue on a regular basis, including commentary that is suitable from their point of view and serves informational goals. In the materials broadcast by Moscow, attention is focused on the following narrative threads/aspects:
- presenting Ukraine as a country “devoid” of international support;
- portraying Ukraine as a nation “betrayed” by its allies;
- creating Poland as a country that “finally broke off” good neighbourly relations with Ukraine;
- crafting the perception of Poles as “broadly resisting” the Polish government’s policy on providing support to Kyiv.
By building its messages, the Russian side not only seeks to strengthen narratives that create Ukraine as a country that will “soon fail” on the front (it will capitulate as a result of being cut off from Western aid), but also tries to use a convenient trend to embed a negative image of Ukraine in Poland while simultaneously arousing anti-Polish sentiments in Ukraine (deconstruction of the positive image of Poland). As a result of the activity of Polish-language Russian sources and Polish sources supporting the Russian Federation, there is a production of content that exaggerates the situation on the border and portrays the Ukrainian side as “hostile to Poland”. At the same time, Ukrainians are being persuaded that Poles have “betrayed” and are now seeking to “destroy Ukraine”. As a result, we are dealing with an exaggeration of the scenario and incorrect conclusions about the actual dispute.
We are currently dealing with Russian involvement in the use of protest data for informational and psychological purposes, which amount to antagonising Poles and Ukrainians (on the one hand, stimulating Poles’ reluctance towards Ukrainians; on the other hand, deconstructing the positive image of Poland in Ukraine). Another aspect of the protests is their dimension concerning the negative effects generated for the Ukrainian economy as well as the adverse effects resulting from the detention of the transport of essential goods. From this point of view, making the protests last as long as possible is beneficial from Moscow’s perspective.
In the current situation, the development of a particular phenomenon in the field of initiatives aimed at blocking the Ukrainian-Slovak border is a cause for concern. Regardless of the demands of Polish carriers, the event itself is a positive phenomenon from Moscow’s perspective, which requires appropriate efforts from both the Polish and Ukrainian sides to resolve the crisis.
Author: dr Michał Marek
Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within thegrant comp etition “Public Diplomacy 2023”
