US, Poland launching group to help Ukraine counter Kremlin disinformation

WARSAW (AP): The United States announced Monday that it is setting up an operation in the Polish capital to help neighboring Ukraine counter Russian disinformation.

The U.S. State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which works to highlight disinformation by what it considers hostile states, said in a statement that the U.S. and Poland have jointly launched a Ukraine Communications Group “to support Ukraine against Russia’s aggression in the information space.”

Increasingly, Polish officials say Poland is also a target of sabotage and other disruptive measures by the Russian secret services.

Poland is a member of NATO along the military alliance’s eastern front. It has been a hub for Western weapons sent to Ukraine. It has also been a place of refuge for a significant number of Ukrainians who have fled Russia’s full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.

The State Department said the new group would bring together allies to “coordinate messaging, promote accurate reporting of Russia’s full-scale invasion, amplify Ukrainian voices and expose Kremlin information manipulation.”

It asserted that the Kremlin “repeatedly uses lies and manipulation to peddle false pretexts for its unjustifiable invasion, obfuscate its war aims and attempt to fracture worldwide solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”