Pro-Russian activist Tomasz Jankowski confronted Przemysław Czarnek
During commemorations honoring the victims of the Volhynia Massacre in Domostawa, a pro-Russian activist staged a provocation.
“You visited the Banderites, and now you’re pretending to be patriots?” shouted Tomasz Jankowski, a figure associated with Kremlin propaganda, at Przemysław Czarnek.
“I will not allow you to spread falsehoods in this sacred place. Please pray and tell the truth!” the PiS deputy chairman replied.
Ceremonies commemorating the victims of the Volhynia Massacre were held in Domostawa, including the laying of flowers at the “Volhynia Massacre” monument by, among others, PiS Deputy Chairman Przemysław Czarnek. The politician was later confronted by one of the men attending the event.
“Did you give away all the troops? To Ukraine? You visited the Banderites, and now you’re pretending to be patriots? The nation remembers very well what you did,” the man shouted at Czarnek.
The Law and Justice MP approached him to clarify the situation. The exchange continued as follows:
- “What’s your name?”
- “My name is Tomasz Jankowski.”
- “And where are you from?”
- “From Mielec, in the Podkarpackie region. We here in Podkarpacie remember the Bandera crimes very well—the ones you absolved.”
- “And what did you do about it?”
- “I wasn’t in power. You were in power, and this monument was built despite your government.”
Czarnek immediately responded.
“I personally met the late sculptor of this monument, Master Pityński, in my office. At the time, when I was standing up to the Ukrainian campaign over Sahryń, you were nowhere to be seen. Ukraine wanted me dismissed from my job. I stood up to Ukrainian Banderism. Ukrainian officials were asking about me in Poland and about where my family lived. We were not intimidated. We called it genocide and began building the memorial to the victims of the Volhynia Massacre in Chełm. We allocated 160 million złoty for it, which they have now taken away from us. I will not allow you to spread falsehoods in this sacred place. Please pray and tell the truth!”
said the PiS candidate for prime minister.
Who is Tomasz Jankowski?
Tomasz Jankowski is a Polish political activist, publicist, and one of the most active promoters of pro-Kremlin narratives in Poland. He is the closest associate of Mateusz Piskorski, who has been charged with espionage on behalf of the civilian intelligence services of Russia and China.
Jankowski’s activities focus on legitimizing Vladimir Putin’s policies, spreading disinformation targeting Poland and Ukraine, and making regular appearances in Russian and Belarusian state-controlled media.
He began his political career as an activist and press spokesman for the Self-Defence (Samoobrona) party. In February 2015, he became involved in establishing the openly pro-Russian political party Zmiana (Change), led by Mateusz Piskorski. Jankowski served as the party’s Secretary General and spokesman, while Konrad Rękas was among its deputy chairmen.
From March 2015, Jankowski also served as secretary of the board of an association called the Ukrainian Committee. Although its name suggested it promoted Polish-Ukrainian friendship, in reality it functioned as a front organization involving, among others, Piskorski and Bartosz Bekier, leader of the pro-Russian and neo-fascist Falanga movement. According to the article, its purpose was to spread disinformation and manipulate Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Jankowski has never concealed his sympathies and remains active in the information sphere, supporting Russia’s hybrid warfare efforts. He is a regular guest on state-controlled television channels such as Rossiya 24, Zvezda TV, and Belarusian Belarus 1, where he is introduced as a “Polish political scientist” and “historian.”
Together with Mateusz Piskorski, he runs the YouTube channel “Wbrew Cenzurze” (“Against Censorship”). According to the article, the channel is used to circumvent restrictions imposed on official Russian media in the European Union and serves as a propaganda platform directed against Poland’s national interest.
Jankowski regularly travels to Russia and continued doing so even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In December 2022, he traveled to Moscow to attend the “Dialogue for the Future” conference organized by the Gorchakov Foundation, a Russian state institution established by presidential decree to conduct public diplomacy and recruit agents of influence. During the visit, he published a photograph from the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in which he stood next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
In February 2024, Jankowski participated in the Multipolarity Forum, another propaganda event in Russia bringing together supporters of Vladimir Putin’s regime from around the world. Last year, he also bid farewell to Russian Ambassador Sergey Andreyev in warm terms, publishing a photograph of himself beside a portrait of Vladimir Putin.