Poland arrested nine Ukrainian and two Belarusian nationals on charges of organizing paid demonstrations among Ukrainian refugees using Russian funds, Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak announced on 29 June.
The arrests mark a documented case of Russian-backed influence operations targeting Ukraine's refugee diaspora in a NATO member state—using Ukrainian citizens as instruments against their own country's interests.
What happened
The suspects recruited participants and paid them to attend "demonstrations" among Ukrainians in Poland beginning in autumn 2025, Siemoniak said. "According to the Internal Security Agency, the funds for this purpose came from Russia. This is classified as an attempt at an influence operation targeting Ukrainian migrants in Poland," he stated.
All 11 will be deported, Siemoniak added.
How the scheme operated
The organizers exploited politically charged topics—including news about corruption scandals in Ukraine—to inflame emotions and provoke protests among Ukrainian refugees, Polish law enforcement reported. Their stated aim was to manipulate the mood of the refugee community and use participants to promote political slogans, according to authorities.
Poland's Internal Security Agency said the hybrid influence operation's objective was to undermine public trust, stoke tensions, and exploit Ukrainian refugees as instruments of Russian intelligence services, Rzeczpospolita reported.
