Inciting hostility between Poles and Ukrainians, promoting reconciliation of Poland and Russia at the expense of Ukraine’s interests, spreading the idea of anti-Americanism in the Polish information space, Leszek Sykulski is a pro-Russian political expert and commentator, leader of the organization “Polish Geopolitical Society” and far-right Geopolityka.net internet portal, AKA a Shady Horse of Russian propaganda.
Leszek Sykulski worked as an international security analyst in the Office of the President of Poland during the presidency of Lech Kaczyński before becoming a notable media person.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, Sikulsky has become the mouthpiece of the pro-Russian version of events in the Polish media space. He founded the NGO “Polish Anti-War Movement”. This was widely covered in Russian media.
In April 2022, in an interview with the Russian Ambassador to Poland, Sykulski supported the pro-Russian narrative justifying Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sykulski initiated the pro-Russian movement “This is not our war”, which calls for “stopping the Americanization of Poland” and curtailing support for Ukraine. In May 2023, he organized a Peace March in Warsaw, during which, according to the media, anti-Ukrainian and anti-American slogans were sounded.
Sikulsky regularly organizes meetings with representatives of the right-wing radical party “Confederation Liberty and Independence”, during which he expresses controversial views. He accuses the US and NATO of the war in Ukraine, opposes the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and “debunks” the desire of the Polish authorities to carry out a coup in Belarus.
Sikulsky has more than 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. The topic of the video mainly concerns criticism of Ukraine and the USA.
Stanislav Zharyn, deputy minister-coordinator of special services, warns about Sykulski’s involvement in the Kremlin’s propaganda.
Who is this Shady Horse?
Political expert
Where are they from?
Poland
Political affiliation?
The leader of pro-Russian organizations, close to the right-wing radical party “Confederation Liberty and Independence”
What have they been saying?
“We are for reconciliation with Russia, and above all for the normalization of relations with Russia. We believe that there are no objective reasons that would slow down Polish-Russian cooperation.”
“… we decided, together with the association “Polish Anti-War Movement”, to create a political formation that will openly […] strive to establish friendly relations with our largest neighbor – the Russian Federation”.
“…the authorities in Warsaw should focus on the problems of Poles, not Ukrainians, and these are our own views, not inspired from abroad, as they try to accuse us of”.
“…the conflict, which we can call a “proxy” conflict, has actually been going on between the USA and Russia on the territory of Ukraine since 2004, since the “Orange Revolution”. The Russians do not want to absorb all of Ukraine, especially the western regions with neo-Bander traditions, which would be an unnecessary problem for them. Russia seeks a new security treaty in Europe and a new distribution of spheres of influence…”
