Estonian social media accounts reported that Poland plans to mobilize 200 000 men by July 1st to be sent to Ukraine. The false information comes from a fake news story caused by a cyber attack against the Polish Press Agency (PAP). The claims of mobilization in Poland are not true.
„WARNING. I don’t know if this is true, so don’t get too nervous, but there are rumors that Poland is planning to mobilize 200 000 men by July 1st to be sent to Ukraine. For a short time, this news was also on the Polish news agency’s website but was then taken down. One can assume that they did not want to cause panic,“ wrote a Facebook user on May 31.
„If this is true, one can assume that the Baltic countries are following a similar plan. Perhaps if there are soldiers/reservists in your family, think carefully if you are prepared for this. And act accordingly. It’s probably no coincidence that Herem will resign at the end of June. He probably doesn’t want to go to Ukraine / be the one who will send our men to Ukraine,“ the post continued.
The fake news first appeared on the Polish Press Agency’s website at around 14:00 on Friday 31 May. The fake news was then taken down, but reappeared on the agency’s front page within half an hour, after which it was permanently removed.
The fake news article started like this: „On July 1st, 2024, a partial military mobilization will be declared in Poland. Two hundred thousand Polish citizens, ex-military and ordinary civilians, will be called up for compulsory military service. All those mobilized will be sent to Ukraine.“
Fifteen minutes after the publication of the fake news, the agency issued a statement refuting the information about the alleged mobilization and announcing that it had been hit by a cyber attack.
„Today (Friday, May 31, 2024), the Polish Press Agency was hit by a cyber-attack, which resulted in the publication of two false reports by PAP Daily Information Service about an alleged mobilization in Poland. PAP was not the source of this information. The news was not produced by the agency, it was not written or posted by PAP employees; it was immediately withdrawn and taken down from the website,“ PAP representatives said.
The Polish authorities reacted to the fake news and cyber attack the same day.
„The alleged PAP news story about mobilization is not true. The [security] services are clarifying the case,“ the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Jan Grabiec, wrote on X.
„Another very dangerous cyber-attack is a good illustration of Russia’s destabilization strategy in the run-up to the European elections. The Polish services are prepared and operate under the supervision of the Minister of Interior and Digital Affairs. It is becoming increasingly clear how important these elections are for us,“ Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X.
The Estonian Defence Forces Commander, General Martin Herem, confirmed to Faktikontroll that the report about the mobilization of 200,000 troops in Poland is false.
„I have not heard that Poland has any plans to declare mobilization. Or that Poland has made such a decision. If something were to happen in that direction, I would probably know about it by now,“ said Herem.
According to Herem, there is no such plan in Estonia or other Baltic states, and there hasn’t been any discussion about mobilization.
Speculation that Herem will resign as commander of the Defence Forces because „he does not want to go to Ukraine and be the one to send our men to Ukraine“ is also not true.
„The dissemination of such information is malicious. Anyone who knows me and the leadership of the Defence Forces knows that we are firmly committed to the government’s decisions. Secondly, everyone should know about our support for Ukraine. We would be ready to support Ukraine in any case and obey an order if it should come from the government. I have publicly stated my reasons for leaving several times and have nothing to add. All other theories are malicious speculation,“ said Herem.
Martin Herem, Commander of the Defence Forces, has decided to leave active service before the end of his term in December 2025 and will step down on June 30 this year.
„Today’s threat assessments give reason to believe that there will be no aggression against Estonia in the next year or two, which is the extended term of my government. Therefore, today is the right time to change the leader, who could prepare the defense forces for the threat,“ Herem commented on his decision to Eesti Päevaleht in January.
Herem spoke in more detail about the deployment of soldiers to Ukraine and the related conditions in „Valeinfo: paljastatud!“ podcast.
Verdict: no context. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hasn’t announced the mobilization of 200 000 men to be sent to Ukraine. The disinformation comes from a fake news report caused by a cyber attack against the Polish Press Agency.
