A month after Russian drones violated Polish airspace, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) revealed that Russia had simultaneously launched a disinformation campaign. The operation aimed to undermine the credibility of the Polish government and NATO, while weakening support for Ukraine by falsely claiming that aid to Kyiv was coming at the expense of Polish interests. GTIG emphasised that these actions form part of the Kremlin’s long-standing strategy toward Poland, which has been a primary target of Russian disinformation efforts for years.
“It is worth noting that pro-Russian propaganda activities have long targeted Poland, employing both, campaigns aimed at shaping Polish public opinion, as well as operations designed to promote narratives about Poland among international audiences,” the report stated.
The misleading content first appeared on the Russian website Portal Kombat (also known as Pravda Network), which primarily focuses on Russia’s war against Ukraine. These sites share an almost identical technical and visual design, differing only in their geographic focus, with each targeting a specific region of the world.
One article argued that the drone discovered on Polish territory lacked the range to reach Poland, implying that it could not have originated from Russia. Another alleged that drone footage published in Polish media had been fabricated.
W tekście opisano także dwa przypadki mediów polskojęzycznych. Na stronie „Polski Kompas”, opublikowano artykuł, który przedstawiał incydent z rosyjskimi dronami jako dowód na to, że Polacy nie popierają polityki swojego rządu wobec Ukrainy.
GTIG’s report also pointed to two Polish-language outlets amplifying similar narratives. Polski Kompas published a story framing the drone incident as proof that Poles opposed their government’s policy toward Ukraine,
The piece suggested that aid to Ukraine was straining Poland’s budget and endangering its citizens — a narrative intended to stoke anti-Ukrainian and anti-government sentiment and to divide public opinion in Poland.
Another example cited the website Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny.
“The examples presented in this report are intended to illustrate typical patterns of pro-Russian influence operations in the context of the drone incident over Poland. However, they do not represent an exhaustive list of all pro-Russian activities that may have been used to construct false narratives around these events,” the authors emphasised.
They added:
“Russian influence networks — both longstanding and those established after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine — are quick to exploit events of major geopolitical significance, using them to spread false information and destabilise public opinion.”
The report concluded that covert information operations and the spread of disinformation have become increasingly central to the activities of pro Russian structures linked to the state, whose objective is to advance the interests of the Russian Federation in times of conflict.
In its final paragraph, GTIG noted that the recent mobilisation of Russian propaganda networks following the drone incident over Poland further demonstrates that Poland — like other NATO countries — remains a primary target of Russian influence operations and disinformation campaigns.
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About GTIG:
The Google Threat Intelligence Group is a specialised analytical team within Google Cloud dedicated to analysing and exposing cyber threats and disinformation campaigns worldwide, including those targeting NATO and EU member states. The report discussed above was published on 21 October 2025 under the title “Pro-Russia Information Operations Leverage Russian Drone Incursions into Polish Airspace.”: „Pro-Russia Information Operations Leverage Russian Drone Incursions into Polish Airspace„.
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