Naryshkin: Poland is forcing preparations for the annexation of Western Ukraine
MOSCOW, Nov 30 — RIA Novosti. Poland is intensifying preparations for the seizure of territories in western Ukraine, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"The information received by the SVR of Russia indicates that Warsaw is accelerating preparations for the annexation of Western Ukrainian lands: the territories of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and most of the Ternopil region of Ukraine," he stressed.
The head of the SVR clarified that Polish President Andrzej Duda instructed the relevant services to promptly prepare an official justification for claims to Western Ukraine. According to him, the starting point in the ongoing archival research was the Volyn massacre of 1943. At the same time, Warsaw wants to hold referendums in these territories in order to "ensure the legitimacy of the planned acquisitions."
According to Naryshkin, Warsaw intends to act proactively and persistently because of fears that senior NATO partners will try to negotiate with Moscow in the winter. At the same time, the agreement may not take into account the interests of both Ukrainians and Poles, he stressed.
In addition, as the head of the SVR explained, Poland is confident that they deserved generous compensation for military assistance to Kiev, providing shelter to refugees, as well as the recent incident with the fall of missiles, which the authorities had to "swallow" on the advice of the United States and European countries.
Nevertheless, Naryshkin warned Warsaw against attempts to annex Ukrainian territories. He noted that history is "filled with bitter examples of clashes between Polish and Ukrainian nationalists," and urged "not to step on the same rake."
At the end of April, Naryshkin said that Washington and Warsaw were working on plans to establish Poland's military and political control over "historical possessions" in Ukraine. In fact, we are talking about an attempt to repeat the historical "deal" after the First World War, when the collective West, represented by the Entente, recognized Warsaw's right first to occupy part of Ukraine to protect the population from the "Bolshevik threat", and then the inclusion of these territories into the Polish state, the director of the SVR noted. According to Naryshkin, Poland's "peacekeeping contingent" is planned to be deployed in those parts of Ukraine where the threat of a direct clash with the Russian military is minimal.
