US and Poland to Help Ukraine Counter Russian Disinformation

The United States and Poland launched a multinational group in Warsaw on Monday, June 10, aimed at countering Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine, according to the US State Department.

James Rubin, special envoy and coordinator of the State Department's Global Engagement Center, introduced the Ukraine Communications Group (UCG) initiative.

"The UCG will bring together like-minded partner governments to coordinate messaging, promote accurate reporting of Russia's full-scale invasion, amplify Ukrainian voices and expose Kremlin information manipulation," the State Department said in a statement. 

Rubin mentioned that the team, consisting of approximately twelve Western representatives, would be stationed at a foreign ministry site in Warsaw.

Ukraine, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia are among the participating countries. NATO and the European External Action Service will also join the initiative.

"We believe that getting a group of people for the first time in a room... 10, 11 people sitting together with their government support, will improve our ability to respond to the Russians' information warfare about the Ukraine war," he said. 

Poland, a strong supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, plays a key role in transferring Western weapons and munitions to Kyiv.

Recently, the Polish Press Agency was targeted in a likely "Russian cyberattack," after a false story about Polish mobilization for the Ukraine war appeared on its wire.

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With Russia’s full-scale invasion approaching the 1,000-day mark, 3.7 million people have already been displaced inside Ukraine and around 6.7 million have fled as refugees, according to UN figures.

Rubin highlighted Poland as an ideal partner for this initiative, noting, "Poland and the United States take the threat of disinformation very seriously."

"Unlike Russia, the West is late to this game. For decades, Russia has prioritized disinformation in its foreign policy, spending billions to manipulate the global information space," he added.