Poland faces Russian election interference: Deputy PM

Poland is facing an unprecedented attempt from Russia to interfere in its presidential election, the deputy prime minister and digital affairs minister said on Tuesday, as the campaign entered its final stages ahead of the first round of voting on May 18. Poland says its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation efforts, and Warsaw has been on high alert for interference, especially after Romania cancelled a presidential election in December due to allegations of Russian meddling. “During the current presidential elections in Poland, we are facing an unprecedented attempt to interfere in the electoral process from the Russian side,” Krzysztof Gawkowski told a defence conference.
“This is being done… (by) spreading disinformation in combination with hybrid attacks on Polish critical infrastructure in order to paralyse the normal functioning of the state,” he added. He said that attacks had targeted water and sewage companies, heat and power plants and state administration bodies. The level of Russian activity in terms of cyberattcks in Poland had more than doubled compared to last year, he said.
He added that Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) had doubled its activity in Poland compared with last year, targeting both cybersecurity responsibilities and the wider information space.Poles will head to the ballot box on May 18 to elect their next president, with a runoff scheduled for June 1 if no candidate wins an outright majority. Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it interferes in foreign elections and criticised the decision to cancel the election in Romania.