The report analyses Russian narratives about Poland across three language editions of the Sputnik portal – Turkish, Arabic, and Persian – covering the period from December 2024 to November 2025. The findings reveal a consistent, multi-layered portrayal of Poland as an aggressive, Russophobic state subordinated to the USA and NATO, one that destabilises Central and Eastern Europe and escalates the war in Ukraine. In all three language versions, Poland never appears as an independent actor: it is depicted as a “pawn of the West,” a state executing the interests of others, and an actor allegedly harbouring imperial ambitions toward Ukraine and Belarus.
Compared to the years 2023–2024, the 2025 messaging displays a clear shift: earlier narratives about the “partition of Ukraine” and Poland’s role within NATO are expanded with heavily emphasised themes of terrorism, sabotage, and hybrid operations. Poland is allegedly responsible for attacks on energy infrastructure, smuggling explosives, issuing threats against Putin’s aircraft, and co-organising provocations together with Ukrainian intelligence services. The Arabic edition particularly amplifies narratives about racism and anti-refugee sentiment in Poland. In contrast, the Persian edition focuses on secret operations, provocations, and terrorism, aligning with dominant interpretative frames present in Iran. The Turkish edition concentrates on geopolitics, EU competition, the war in Ukraine, and Poland’s role as a destabilising force in the European order.
All three language versions employ similar techniques: selective quoting of marginal “experts,” decontextualised statements, manipulative headlines, and “laundering” narratives through local commentators. The analysis indicates that Russian messaging about Poland in the MENAT region is becoming increasingly aggressive, emotional, and closely tied to current events, aimed at undermining Poland’s credibility as an ally of Ukraine, a NATO member, and a partner of the West.
