Fake claim about “hundreds of Polish soldiers killed in Ukraine”
Disinformation is spreading in the Polish information space about the alleged mass deaths of Polish soldiers on the territory of Ukraine.
▫️ Former Polish judge Tomasz Szmydt, who is wanted on suspicion of espionage in favor of belarus and has obtained belarusian citizenship, published a Facebook post featuring photos of coffins, claiming that “hundreds of bodies have arrived in Poland,” and alleging that NATO forces within the so-called Coalition of the Willing suffered heavy losses in Donbas in early 2026.
▫️ In reality, these claims are fabricated. Poland, like other member states of the Coalition of the Willing, has not deployed military personnel to participate in combat operations on the territory of Ukraine, and reports of their “mass deaths” are part of an information operation.
▫️ An analysis of the images also indicates forgery. The first photo, depicting coffins on a runway, was generated by artificial intelligence, as confirmed by verification tools. The second image is authentic; however, it is unrelated to Ukraine. The photograph dates back to 2011 and shows the arrival of the bodies of Polish soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
The dissemination of such disinformation has a clear objective — to reduce support for Ukraine and instill fear within Polish society by promoting the narrative of Poland being “drawn into the war.”
