Russia’s FSB Chief Is Personally Leading Campaign to Split Ukraine and Poland — UNITED24 Media

Russia is preparing a new information operation aimed at worsening relations between Ukraine and Poland by publishing forged World War II-era documents related to the Volhynia tragedy, according to Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) on July 4.

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Andrii Kovalenko, head of the CCD under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said the operation is being overseen by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov and is expected to intensify on July 5 through Russian state-controlled media.

“Director of the FSB of the Russian Federation Bortnikov is currently responsible for Russia’s information operations aimed at creating a split between Poland and Ukraine,” Kovalenko said.

According to Kovalenko, Russian intelligence services plan to release what Ukraine describes as fabricated historical documents related to the Volhynia tragedy, with the goal of reigniting historical disputes between Ukrainians and Poles.

The CCD said the planned publication would be accompanied by a coordinated information campaign across Russian state media. Ukrainian officials also reported increased activity by Russian-linked bot networks targeting Polish audiences with manipulative content and emotionally charged narratives focused on contentious chapters of Polish-Ukrainian history.

The warning follows previous statements by Poland’s Minister-Coordinator of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak, who has said Russia uses troll farms, bot networks, and other information warfare tools to exploit historical disputes between Poland and Ukraine and deepen divisions between the two societies.

According to the CCD, the Kremlin has spent years building narratives around sensitive historical issues to fuel tensions between neighboring countries and undermine regional unity.

The warning comes as Kyiv and Warsaw have recently sought to ease disagreements over historical issues. During talks in Warsaw, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski discussed measures including diplomatic consultations, meetings between historians, and dialogue involving religious leaders.