RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION STRATEGIES IN POLAND AS A THREAT TO THE INFORMATION SECURITY OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article examines Russian disinformation strategies implemented in the Polish information space and their impact on the national security of Ukraine. In the context of ongoing hybrid aggression, the Russian Federation exercises a targeted influence on Ukraine’s foreign policy positioning by weakening its partnership relations with key allies. Poland, as one of Ukraine’s main strategic partners, is a priority target of Russian information and psychological operations. Using content analysis of pro-Russian publications published in pro-Russian or Russian media, the authors identify a number of key destructive narratives aimed at destabilizing Ukrainian-Polish relations. Among them are the exploitation of historical traumas, discrediting Ukrainian politics, spreading messages about the «ingratitude» of Ukrainians, an economic threat from Ukraine, and allegations of Poland’s territorial ambitions. The authors substantiate that these informational influences undermine trust in Ukraine, form a hostile image of the Ukrainian state in the eyes of Polish society and may have negative geopolitical consequences for Central and Eastern Europe. The article proposes a comprehensive system of countermeasures – from strategic planning to the formation of counter-narratives and the development of cross-border media literacy. The study, based on applied content analysis of pro-Russian and Russian publications, allowed us to identify key disinformation strategies of the Russian Federation aimed at forming a distorted perception of Ukraine in Polish society. For the first time in Ukrainian science, the authors have investigated how these narratives are integrated into the political discourse of Poland, including the rhetoric of individual representatives of the government and the opposition, which is evidence of the indirect influence of Russian information expansion. The novelty of the study also lies in establishing a direct connection between these information influences and real threats to Ukraine's information security, which can lead to the undermining and complication of Ukrainian-Polish cooperation.