FILE PHOTO: A general view of Warsaw skyscrapers is seen from the field near Popowo Koscielne Poland July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland has identified a Russian group tasked with influencing Polish elections through disinformation and stoking instability, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Friday.
In mid-May 2025, presidential elections will be held in Poland, and the Polish authorities fear that Russian intelligence services may try to influence them in reprisal for Poland's involvement in helping Ukraine.
Warsaw says its role as a hub for supplies to Ukraine has made it a target for spies working for Russia and its ally Belarus, as well as for acts of sabotage. Minsk and Moscow have dismissed accusations that they are behind acts of sabotage.
In December, fellow NATO and European Union member Romania annulled a presidential election after accusations of Russian meddling, which Moscow denied.
"In recent days, a Russian group has been identified, another one that was inspired and prepared by the Russian military intelligence GRU, whose goal is to influence the Polish elections," Gawkowski, who is also Minister of Digital Affairs, said on the private television TVN24.
"Not only the Polish political scene, but also the Polish elections."
The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gawkowski did not provide any other details, saying only that it was about "spreading disinformation, false information" and "recruiting people who ... would destroy the coherence of the political scene in Poland".
He added that although it was a Russian group, "it can recruit various people".
"We have very efficient services, ... that deal with the protection of the Republic of Poland. They have knowledge, and we identify these as actions that are intended to influence Polish elections," Gawkowski said.
"Russia is waging cyberwar on Poland. We are the most attacked country in the European Union, and the elections are to be a test of whether Polish democracy will survive."
(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by William Maclean)
