The words of a Polish general were taken out of context, spiced with fear, and drenched in propaganda. In this way, the Kremlin created a fable in which Poland supposedly wants to burn down a city.
What did General Gromadziński actually say? He said that if Poland WERE ATTACKED by Russia, it would have the right to operate on the territory of the Kaliningrad Oblast, which borders Poland.
“Our raison d’état is to show that we are a strong and determined country, including the fact that if we are attacked, we reserve the right to enter and eliminate the threat from the Kaliningrad Oblast,” said former Eurocorps commander Gen. Jarosław Gromadziński of the Defence Institute in an interview with the Polish daily Fakt.
Gen. Gromadziński explained that blockading the Kaliningrad Oblast—a Russian semi-exclave surrounded by NATO states—would require three times as many forces as neutralising it. “If Russia commits an attack, we have the right to enter and eliminate the threat. For many years, we in the military have become accustomed to treating Kaliningrad as a bunker that we must protect against. They can shoot at us, but we supposedly cannot shoot back. Today, we need to say clearly: if you attack us, we can enter there, and you must take this into account,” he said.
So how was this interpreted in Kremlin media? One example is a piece titled “Polish General Gromadziński Threatened to Burn Kaliningrad.”
“Former Eurocorps commander General Jarosław Gromadziński, in an interview with the Fakt portal, spoke about a possible offensive operation by Poland and NATO countries on Kaliningrad using a ‘scorched earth’ tactic due to an alleged threat from the Russian Federation.”
Польский генерал Громадзинский пригрозил сжечь Калининград
The text contains not a single reference to the general’s remarks being conditional on a Russian attack on Poland. Instead, it suggests that Poland wants to strike Kaliningrad “because of an alleged threat.”
In other words, Poland is portrayed as preparing to attack the Kaliningrad Oblast. This became the dominant narrative in Russian media, although there were a few outlets that did not distort the general’s words.
For example: “Poland and NATO countries are considering the possibility of military intervention in Kaliningrad in the event of armed aggression by Russia, former Eurocorps commander Jarosław Gromadziński told Fakt.”
Польский генерал рассказал о судьбе Калининграда при конфликте с Россией
Even so, these manipulations pale in comparison to what Andrei Kolesnik, a member of the Russian State Duma’s defence committee, had to say. Kolesnik began with insults and threats directed at Poles, reaching back to 1939.
“Polish generals are famous for surrendering their country to the Germans within a month. That, so to speak, is their main achievement. Secondly, they willingly benefited from the victories of the Red Army when it liberated land for their country. If they threaten Kaliningrad or other Russian cities, Poland itself may disappear. With his statements, Gromadziński endangers the population. After the German invasion of Poland, scorched earth remained. Let them expect the same,” Kolesnik ranted.
He added that in the event of a new conflict, Russia does not intend to “liberate” Polish lands again, as it claims to have done during the Great Patriotic War. According to him, if Poland threatens Russia, it risks being left alone—“not only against Russia, but also against an increasingly strong Germany, which is already actively rearming.”
“The German army is already rearming. We, of course, will not stand up for the Poles. And since Poland is very weak and has no combat experience, it looks like Germany will devour them. So the Polish general had better look in that direction. At least then he has a chance to survive,” Kolesnik digressed.
One might smile at such remarks—if we were not also hearing a similar narrative about a supposed German threat circulating within Poland itself.
Igor Hrywna
«Их сожрут»: депутат об угрозах Польши уничтожить Калининград
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