Collage: Ukrainska Pravda
Russia's FSB launches disinformation campaign using fake Volyn tragedy documents
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has entered the active phase of a special operation aimed at undermining the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Poland by spreading supposedly archival "documents" about the Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy.
Ukrainska Pravda
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Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has entered the active phase of a special operation aimed at undermining the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Poland by spreading supposedly archival "documents" about the Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy.
Source: Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council
Details: The Kremlin has launched an information campaign, using state-controlled media to spread disinformation in an attempt to artificially reignite historical disputes between Ukraine and Poland at a critical moment for both countries.
Quote: "The FSB plans to publish forged documents relating to events of the Second World War, namely the Volyn tragedy, on 5 July in an attempt to undermine Ukrainian-Polish relations. Russian state media have been instructed to amplify this story.
FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov is currently personally overseeing Russian information operations aimed at driving a wedge between Poland and Ukraine."
Details: On the night of 4-5 July, the Russian propaganda outlet Russia Today published an article citing supposedly "declassified" FSB files. The article accused Dmytro Kliachkivskyi, one of the commanders of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), of killing 11 Catholic priests and nearly 2,000 Poles in the town of Volodymyr-Volynskyi in early summer 1943.
Russian propaganda is deliberately using manipulative terminology to provoke a strong emotional reaction in Polish society. It predictably and deliberately described the events of the Volyn tragedy as a "massacre", exploiting historical trauma.
Russia is exploiting painful historical issues in an attempt to artificially fuel hostility between Ukraine and Poland.
"The goal of this FSB special operation is to destroy the strategic partnership through manipulation of the past," the Center for Countering Disinformation stressed.
Background:
Earlier, the Center for Countering Disinformation warned that Russian intelligence services have stepped up the activity of bot farms in the Polish segment of social media and were planning provocations in Ukraine using Polish symbols.
On 2 July, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with Polish law enforcement agencies, uncovered a network of 11 people who had organised anti-Ukrainian rallies in Poland in exchange for Russian money.
On 3 July, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said NATO allies have issued serious warnings about Russian preparations for armed provocations directly on Polish territory.
On 4 July, the Center for Countering Disinformation warned that Russian intelligence services are preparing provocations involving forged "documents" relating to the events of the Volyn tragedy during the Second World War.
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