Poland's armed forces shot down Russian drones after they violated national airspace during an attack on Ukraine overnight into Wednesday. Shortly after the incident, videos and images that purport to depict the incident have circulated online, as well as propaganda and disinformation from Russia, Polish politicians say. Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on the social media platform X that Russian propaganda directly targets the security of Poland.
The Russian Foreign Ministry claims that Poland itself has been spreading "myths" about the drone incursion to "aggravate the Ukrainian crisis." At the same time, pro-Kremlin media outlets and military bloggers are actively spreading disinformation about the drones, falsely asserting that there is no evidence that Russian drones were shot down. Some Russian news outlets are even talking about a "provocation by Ukraine" or "unidentifiable objects."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said the drones entering Polish airspace were Shahed drones, an Iranian design that Russia commonly uses for attacking Ukraine. This is not the first time that a Russian Shahed drone was found in Poland. It was only in August that Polish authorities found debris of what appears to be a Russian drone that had crashed into a field.
DW Fact Check looks at three examples of the numerous videos and claims about the drones that are being shared on social media.
Claim: A user on TikTok shares several...
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