LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images
- Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Friday that Poland wants to seize Western Ukraine.
- "The possibility is obvious," he said in remarks to his Security Council.
- Russia has often deflected from its own invasion by claiming Poland has its own imperial ambitions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who last year ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine following the earlier occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea, on Friday warned that Ukraine could be invaded and occupied — by Poland.
In a video address to his national security council, the Russian leader claimed the increased military cooperation between Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania since the Russian invasion could provide an opportunity for Warsaw to settle historical disputes and stake its own claim to Ukrainian territory.
Under the guise of a friendly "military union," and citing the threat posed by Russia, Poland could send troops to Western Ukraine and, "if we're being blunt," remain there for good, Putin argued, according to a translation of his remarks shared by Kevin Rothrock, an editor at the independent Russian media outlet Meduza.
"The possibility is obvious," Putin said. "If Polish troops enter, for example, Lviv or other Ukrainian territories, they will stay there, and they will stay there forever."
Russia's attempt to sow discord among allies is nothing new. In May 2022, Sputnik, a Russian government media platform, broadcast the claim — citing Russian intelligence — that Warsaw would seek to annex parts of western Ukraine, part of what the European Union's disinformation-monitoring service described at the time as a "[r]ecurring narrative presenting Poland as a state which has imperial ambitions."
The charge was repeated this past April by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia's Security Council. "Emboldened by the current circumstances, Poland has decided that the chance to absorb the remnants of Ukraine is to be taken now, or never," he wrote on Twitter. The claim was repeated again this month by a spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry.
Speaking Friday, Putin — who launched the 2022 invasion with the hope of overthrowing Kyiv's government — claimed he would not "interfere" in internal Ukrainian affairs. But he accused Poland of also desiring parts of Belarus, a close Russian ally. That would trigger war, he said.
"We'll respond to that by every means," Putin said.
Representatives for the Polish and Ukrainian governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com