A sharp rise in hostile online messaging is being used to deepen historical tensions, radicalise Polish society and weaken support for Ukraine, according to the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
Russia has intensified an anti-Ukrainian information campaign in Poland, exploiting disputes over the countries’ shared history to increase social polarisation and undermine European unity, according to analysts at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM).
The assessment, reported by Bankier.pl on 23 August 2026, found that references to anti-Ukrainian narratives in Polish-language online spaces increased by 345 per cent after the decision by Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, on 26 May to give a Ukrainian military unit the name “Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army”.
Almost 500,000 such items were published between May and July, PISM said. The daily number of references rose from fewer than 1,000 to about 10,000. The analysis focused primarily on X, formerly known as Twitter, while also examining Facebook and TikTok.
A campaign built around historical grievances
PISM said some of the most radical messages were distributed by bot networks, troll accounts linked to Russia and pro-Russian political circles. Most of the comments responding to those messages, however, were left by ordinary users, suggesting that the campaign was seeking to push externally amplified themes into wider public debate.
The naming of the unit touched one of the most sensitive areas in Polish-Ukrainian relations. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, is associated with historical violence and disputes that remain deeply painful in both countries. The material does not suggest that every hostile comment was generated by Russia, but it identifies the Kremlin’s use of those divisions as a deliberate attempt to intensify conflict.
According to the PISM assessment, Russia is trying to move information hostility into the physical world, including through protests and other forms of social tension. That creates a route from online manipulation to visible political pressure, while making disputes between Poland and Ukraine appear more immediate and more difficult to resolve.
Pressure on Poland’s political agenda
The campaign’s significance extends beyond the bilateral relationship. PISM warned that anti-Ukrainian narratives could be used actively before and during Poland’s parliamentary elections in 2027 to influence the country’s domestic political situation.
Russia’s strategy, as described by the institute, is to turn questions that are already emotionally charged into instruments of political mobilisation. By increasing hostility towards Ukraine, the Kremlin can aggravate internal disputes, create more favourable conditions for radical and right-populist forces, and influence the issues competing parties are forced to address.
This approach also threatens political forces that support Ukraine and Poland’s European course. A more polarised debate could make it harder for those forces to maintain public backing, while giving Moscow greater scope to shape Poland’s political agenda without needing to determine the outcome of any single election.
Implications beyond Poland
PISM’s warning places the Polish campaign in a wider European context. The institute said a trend towards social radicalisation and increased support for right-populist forces ahead of elections was also visible in other EU countries, including France and Germany.
The concern for the European Union is not simply that anti-Ukrainian sentiment may damage relations between two neighbouring countries. Growing internal conflict and deeper divisions over support for Ukraine could weaken the EU’s common policy towards Russia and Ukraine. If national political debates become increasingly shaped by hostile narratives, Moscow gains opportunities to influence individual states and erode collective European positions.
The scale and speed of the increase identified by PISM point to a campaign that can exploit an existing grievance while broadening its reach through online platforms. The unresolved question is how effectively Polish institutions and political parties can prevent a dispute rooted in history from becoming a vehicle for Russia’s wider attempt to fracture support for Ukraine and weaken cohesion across Europe.
How should Poland respond to externally amplified historical grievances without further polarising its own political debate?
