France, Germany, Poland to launch Ukraine anti-disinformation drive

As Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine approaches its third year, the top diplomats of France, Germany, and Poland were scheduled to announce on Monday a coordinated effort to combat Russian misinformation campaigns.

To strengthen Warsaw’s ties with Paris and Berlin, Polish Prime Minister and former EU chairman Donald Tusk is visiting France and Germany on Monday. The three of them will meet at a mediaeval castle outside of Paris.

At the Chateau de La Celle-Saint-Cloud, which is located outside of Paris, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and his German colleague Annalena Baerbock will be hosted by French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne.

Over the weekend, Sejourne said that France, Germany, and Poland will be announcing a new cooperative agreement to counteract foreign misinformation campaigns, especially those coming out of Russia.

The ministers were expected to also report on Moscow’s new information attacks against the three countries.

“Our three countries have been victims of the same destabilisation strategy,” Sejourne said in an interview with French regional daily Ouest-France published on Saturday.

Sejourne said that the trio would reveal “the attacks that have been committed,” adding such disinformation attacks were designed to divide public opinion.

Kremlin critics say Russia has for years used troll factories and fake news websites to spread disinformation in the West.

After Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow ramped up efforts to promote a pro-Kremlin narrative.

Paris, Berlin and Warsaw are hoping to ramp up cooperation and reinvigorate the so-called “Weimar Triangle” format initially created in 1991 to enable concerted European action.