We are talking about training and counseling of the Ukrainian military, which took place long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As for the participation of the Poles, the book “Poland at War,” cited by the propaganda, confirms that they were withdrawn from the territory of Ukraine after the start of the great war at the insistence of the Polish authorities.
Kremlin news outlets claim that Ukrainians have failed to “hide the fact that Polish and British special forces have been fighting in Ukraine since the very first days.”
Propaganda says that this directly confirms that Western countries “initiated this war.”
Evidence that British and Polish special forces have been “fighting in Ukraine from the very first days” allegedly appeared in the recently published book Poland at War by Zbigniew Parafianowicz, which describes the relations between Poland and Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
StopFake has carefully studied the text of the book and all references to special forces from the UK and Poland.
Thus, the author quotes one of the ministers who says: “In addition, a political decision was made that all our people should be withdrawn from Ukraine. Soldiers, many people from the services, everyone who could be captured by the Russians had to be taken away.”
Zbigniew Parafianowicz goes on to quote the following:
“Minister X: On the first day of the war, we realized that there were special forces from Lublin in Brovary near Kyiv. Since 2014, that is, since the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, they, together with the Americans and the British, have been training and helping to create special forces for Ukrainians. On the first day of the war, our soldiers were in Ukraine. Soldiers wearing the uniform of a NATO country were on the territory of a country attacked by Russia. When Russian missiles started falling on Brovary near Kyiv, they were there. Armored convoys of the Russian Guard from the unit assigned to defend Moscow were moving toward that city.
A high-ranking Polish officer: Instead of returning to Poland on the first day of the war, they went in the opposite direction. In particular, to Kharkiv, as well as to the cities of Donbas, which were controlled by Ukrainians. They cooperated with the British. They evacuated Poles, but also foreigners. Mostly the British, with whom they had very good relations.
Minister X: We convinced Blaszczak (Mariusz Blaszczak, Polish Minister of National Defense at that time – ed.) to allow the special forces to stay in Ukraine as long as possible. They also wanted to stay there as long as possible. They had to gather intelligence. However, Duda and Blaszczak insisted on returning. We could not allow a Polish soldier to be taken prisoner.“
The book mentions British special forces in the following quote:
“Minister X: I remember being in Kyiv in mid-March. I was coming back by the Zhytomyr highway. It was the time when the Russians were still in Bucha and the highway was a gray zone. You could meet Russians. We passed the last checkpoint. The Ukrainians told us that we could continue at our own risk. So, who did we meet next? Ukrainian soldiers and… British special forces, in uniform, armed. They were moving with the Ukrainians in trucks and SUVs with artillery radars. They did target acquisition. They were studying this war. Such radar determines the place where mortar or rocket shells fall and are fired.“
In addition to these quotes, the book also describes how Polish special forces were used to help during the negotiations in Belarus.
But the book does not mention anywhere that Polish and British special forces took full part in the fighting on the side of Ukraine. Instead, as can be seen from the quotes of individual officials, they helped evacuate foreign citizens, continued to advise Ukrainians, and helped prepare for special operations. The Poles themselves also confirmed that everything had been done to get all their citizens out of the country, except for those who decided to fight on the side of Ukraine and stayed as volunteers. The withdrawal of the military from Ukraine a few weeks after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion was confirmed by the author himself in an interview with Portal Obronny.
The assistance of foreign intelligence services to Ukrainians is not a secret. The arrival of the British in Ukraine on the eve of the full-scale invasion was also reported by foreign media.
“Crack troops from the SAS, the SBS, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support group are understood to be working in the country as military advisers,” The Mirror wrote in early February 2022. At that time, there were about 100 fighters of the elite British special forces. Such an action was dictated by the threat of an attack on Ukraine by Russia, but not by the desire to “initiate war,” as the propaganda claims.
Earlier, StopFake drew attention to similar disinformation narratives in the materials – Fake: Britain is Sending Troops to Ukraine to Capture Crimea, Fake: EU Has Created Training Center for Ukrainian Terrorists and Nazi Militants, Fake: Czech General Staff Сonfirmed Intention to Send Troops to Ukraine.
