Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said that Russia is attempting to recruit Polish citizens through the dark web to interfere in the upcoming presidential election, Reuters reported on 28 January.
The recruitment efforts are reportedly aimed at spreading disinformation and destabilizing the political landscape in Poland ahead of the elections scheduled for 18 May 2025.
Krzysztof Gawkowski said Russian intelligence services are offering between 3,000 and 4,000 euros to spread disinformation during the May election campaign.
“This is money directed from the Russian services GRU and FSB, which are looking for such patrons of their content here,” Gawkowski told Reuters.
The recruitment efforts have been observed since early 2024 and target Poles willing to influence the campaign from within the country, according to Polish authorities.
Poland identified a Russian group focused on election interference through disinformation earlier this month. Warsaw points to its role as a logistics hub for Ukraine military aid as making it a target for Russian and Belarusian intelligence operations.
Poland has raised multiple alerts about Russian activities. On 15 January, Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of Russian plans for sabotage operations targeting Polish airspace and global airlines.
Just days later, on 19 January, Polish authorities first revealed Russia’s attempts to recruit citizens for pre-election destabilization efforts.
Moscow has not responded to these latest accusations. Russia consistently denies involvement in foreign election interference.
On 11 December, the head of European diplomacy that Russia had learnt to influence elections in other countries. On 18 December, Romania found evidence of election interference, including by Russia.
In the summer 2024, Poland announced it would spend more than PLN 3 billion ($760 million) to strengthen cybersecurity after the state news agency PAP suffered a cyberattack believed to have been carried out by Russia. After this attack, Poland’s defence minister said that it was worth preparing for other similar cases.
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