Russian special services involved in blocking Ukraine's border with Poland and Slovakia

Details on the points of investigation:

1. The official organizer of the blocking of Ukraine's border with Poland is Rafal Mekler. He is the owner of the transport company Rafał Mekler Transport and the head of the branch of the pro-Russian party Confederation of Liberty and Independence in the Lubelskie Voivodeship. The Confederation is known for its pro-Russian positions and views. Its leader, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, called on the Polish government to recognize the occupation of Crimea, travelled to the annexed peninsula himself and even met with the Goblin, the local Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov. Korwin-Mikke is known for his sexist remarks against women, as well as his affection for the person of Adolf Hitler. "Hitler didn't know about the Holocaust," the politician is sure.

2. The Confederation of Liberty and Independence is closely linked to the Polish organization All-Polish Youth, which has long-standing friendly relations with the Russian Imperial Movement. This Russian organization, controlled by the FSB, was directly involved in the recruitment of terrorist mercenaries for the combat units of Russian proxy forces in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ziemowit Przebitkowski, the leader of the Confederation's list in the 2023 Sejm elections, is a former head of the All-Polish Youth movement. Confederation and Youth regularly organize joint political events.

3. The current border blockade is not the first episode of Polish carriers' participation in campaigns that may be directly related to Russian special services. For example, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, employees of Rafał Mekler Transport repeatedly held "protest actions" demanding the complete lifting of economic sanctions against Russia. Other Polish companies, such as Kam-Trans, Jata-Trans, BOR-TOM, GLT POLSKA, KMS LOGISTYKA and PEO-TRANS, also took part in similar events.

4. Polish pro-Russian politicians have a direct influence on the "action" of road carriers. Thus, on 16 November, at the Polish checkpoint Korczowa, the organisers of the blockade met with the founder of the party Confederation of Liberty and Independence and the leader of the Confederation of the Polish Crown Grzegorz Braun.

Grzegorz Braun was the only member of the then Polish Sejm who, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, voted against the resolution of the country's parliament condemning Russia's actions and atrocities in Ukraine. This happened after the exposure of the massacres of Ukrainian civilians by the Russian military in Bucha, Kyiv region.

Grzegorz Braun has repeatedly spoken out against the presence of Ukrainian refugees in Poland and is the author of the slogan "Let's stop the Ukrainisation of Poland".

5. Grzegorz Braun is likely to have direct contact with Russian special services. In 2018, he met publicly in Moscow with Leonid Sviridov, a journalist for the Kremlin's Russia Today media outlet. After Leonid Sviridov was deported from the Republic of Poland for spying for Russia. Grzegorz Braun is personally involved in all political activities of the previously mentioned All-Polish Youth, which maintains direct relations with the paramilitary right-wing radical group Zadrużny Krąg - Dywizja Słowiańska. This Polish structure, in turn, closely cooperates with the neo-Nazi group Rusich from Russia. Rusich's fighters are directly fighting as part of the occupation units of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine and as part of the aggressor country's private military companies. In particular, in the Wagner PMC.

6. Viktor Stepanovich Gordeyuk, a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, is another organizer of the blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border. He is the owner of the aforementioned transport company PEO-Trans. Currently, Gordeyuk is studying at one of the higher military educational institutions of Lukashenko's Belarus, where he can obviously have direct contact with the local KGB operatives. Viktor Gordeyuk's brother, Andrey Gordeyuk, is currently serving in the 38th separate airborne assault brigade of Lukashenko's Belarus, which is closely cooperating with the Russian General Staff.

7. In Slovakia, a neighboring country of Poland, the organizers of the border blockade are activists of the NGO Union of Road Hauliers of Slovakia (UNAS). The blockade was supported by the anti-European right-wing radical party Our Slovakia. This political force is known for its friendly contacts with Russia and officially advocates the "restoration of friendly relations" with the aggressor country.

In 2014, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in Donbas and the occupation of Crimea, the leader of Our Slovakia, Marian Kotleba, wrote a letter to Viktor Yanukovych in Russia in which he compared the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity of 2013-14 to global terrorism.

8. In his home country, Marian Kotleba is known for his support for the leader of the Nazi government of Slovakia during World War II, Jozef Tiso, who was convicted and executed in Bratislava in 1947 for his actions against the Slovak people. Marian Kotleba also has a Slovak court sentence. In 2020, the politician was convicted under the article "public support and propaganda of a movement aimed at destroying human rights and freedoms". After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kotleba spread conspiracy theories and hoaxes in the media and on social media, and acted as an ardent opponent of vaccination. He is known for his favourable attitude towards Russia's anti-American policy and Vladimir Putin.

P. S. These are the "friends of Putin" who are currently trying to block Ukraine's western border. They are hiding behind purely economic demands and "protecting the interests" of Polish and Slovak carriers. Although in reality, consciously or unconsciously, they are directly acting according to the Kremlin and FSB's instructions and in the interests of the Kremlin.

Source

About the author. Yehor Checherynda, officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, journalist, TV presenter

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.