Poland is facing an unprecedented attempt by russia to interfere in the presidential election, the first round of which is scheduled for May 18, through the spread of disinformation and cyberattacks.
This was stated by the Minister of Digital Technologies of Poland, Krzysztof Gawkowski, Reuters reports.
Thus, the pre-election campaign has now entered its final stage on the eve of the first round of voting on May 18.
"During the current presidential election in Poland, we are facing an unprecedented attempt to interfere in the electoral process from the russian side. This is being done... (by) spreading disinformation combined with hybrid attacks on Polish critical infrastructure in order to paralyze the normal functioning of the state," he said at a defense conference.
According to him, the objects of the attacks were water supply and sewage companies, thermal power plants and state administration bodies. He said the level of russian cyberattack activity in Poland had more than doubled compared to last year.
“Today, in Poland, for every minute of my speech, about a dozen incidents targeting critical infrastructure were recorded,” he said.
Poland says its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine has made it a key target for russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation, and Warsaw is on high alert for intervention, especially after Romania canceled its presidential election in December over allegations of russian interference.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations of interference in foreign elections and criticized the decision to cancel the Romanian election.
In March, Poland said that a cyberattack had been carried out on the Polish space agency. In 2024, Poland said that the state news agency was likely the victim of a russian cyberattack.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results of the first round due to information about illegal financing of Georgescu's election campaign and alleged russian interference in the electoral process.
Romania called unacceptable the statements of russia, which the day before questioned the legitimacy of the Romanian presidential election. Bucharest stated that an aggressor country cannot teach lessons in democracy.
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