Russia seeks to create rifts between Kyiv and Warsaw, Polish PM says
With the war nearing its end, Russia is making every effort to incite discord between Ukraine and Poland, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said, in light of the multiple detentions that occurred during a Belarusian rap concert in Warsaw.
Police detained 109 individuals at a concert by Max Korzh at the National Stadium in Warsaw on August 9 for various offences, including possession of drugs and pyrotechnics, violence against security personnel and trespassing. More than 50 individuals received fines totalling PLN 11,500 (EUR 2,700).
Concert attendees were also seen displaying red-and-black flags that represent the struggle for Ukrainian independence, a symbol also associated with Ukrainian nationalists from the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), who Poland holds accountable for the mass murder of Polish civilians during World War Two.
On Tuesday, Tusk addressed the incidents on the X platform: "The anti-Polish actions by Ukrainians and the incitement of anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland is part of Putin's strategy, orchestrated by foreign agents and local idiots. Always the same ones."
According to the prime minister, deportation proceedings were initiated against 57 Ukrainians and six Belarusians.
Earlier in the week, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski and Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek declared that if there were grounds to suspect that those who broke the law may do so again, they would be deported to their country of origin.(PAP)
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