“From our analysis of the Russian infosphere and diplomatic communication, it appears that Bosacki, unknowingly, strengthened the four main pillars of Russian propaganda,” said Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), in an interview with wp.pl.
On Tuesday, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported—citing anonymous sources “within the most important state structures responsible for national security”—that the house damaged in the village of Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, had not been struck by a falling drone, but rather by a stray anti-aircraft missile fired from a Polish F-16 fighter jet.
A photo of the house in Wyryki was shown last week at the United Nations Security Council—convened at Poland’s request—by Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki, who spoke of Russian drones that “targeted Polish homes.”
Bosacki later said on Polish Radio Program Three that, during the UN session, he had no knowledge that the damage was caused by a Polish missile rather than a Russian drone.
In his interview with wp.pl, Prof. Cenckiewicz, the head of BBN, described Bosacki’s appearance at the UN as “a public humiliation of Poland” and “a communications disaster.”
“The case of the drones and the missile accidentally fired by our air force into a house in Wyryki showed that lies were chosen over truth, creating a disinformation package for both the Russians and that segment of Polish public opinion that rejects any Polish involvement in helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia,” said Prof. Cenckiewicz.
He assessed that Bosacki’s speech at the UN Security Council “was primarily aimed at domestic consumption.”
“But in terms of image-building, it was meant as an international counter to the 2022 incident when Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya brandished a printout of Radosław Sikorski’s infamous tweet—‘Thank you, USA’—in the very same forum. In this way, Bosacki became Sikorski 2.0, and actually did something much worse, because he was representing the Polish government at the Security Council. His speech and the photo he held up became the main evidence of the government camp’s falsehood about Wyryki. This undermined our cause both in the eyes of Polish society and internationally, where Poland has now ‘earned’ the reputation of being deceitful,” stressed the BBN chief.
Cenckiewicz emphasized that analyses show Bosacki “unintentionally reinforced four main pillars of Russian propaganda.”
“He lent credibility to the narrative of Polish ‘forgeries,’ ‘Russophobia,’ and ‘incompetence’ in identifying threats (he even admitted later that he based his knowledge on media reports!). And by dragging out for several days the tension around the falsehood concerning Wyryki, he created favorable conditions for Russia’s propaganda counterstrike. One of the axes of that counterattack is the issue of Poland’s supposed ‘unreliability’ as an ally, since—let’s not forget—among those who supported Poland’s initiative to convene the UN Security Council session were three NATO pillars: the U.S., the U.K., and France, whose representatives became unwitting witnesses to a Polish minister presenting false evidence of a Russian drone attack,” he said.
Sławomir Cenckiewicz bluntly stated that the government “withheld information from its own society, from President Karol Nawrocki, and from the international community.”
“But to say ‘withheld’ is saying nothing, because Minister Bosacki publicly presented a false version of events at an international forum, broadcast live in Poland,” he added.
Addressing the matter being raised in public debate, Prof. Cenckiewicz said: “We are not engaging in polemics, but we will also not allow President Karol Nawrocki—or ourselves—to be dressed into a so-called ‘community of responsibility’ for the outrageous mistakes of Donald Tusk’s government.”