Poland's government:

Farmers’ protests possibly infiltrated by Moscow

Angry Polish farmers on Tuesday in Minsk Mazowiecki, Poland

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Poland's government has warned of possible Russian infiltration of the farmers' protests in the country. "In our opinion, the anti-Ukrainian slogans that emerged during the recent farmers' blockades are an attempt to take over the movement by outside groups that may be influenced by the Russian secret service," the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw announced on Wednesday.

It was seen with great concern that posters glorifying Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war he is waging had also appeared during the protests. The protests by Polish farmers are directed against EU agricultural policy, but also against the import of cheap agricultural products from Ukraine. On Tuesday, farmers blocked transport hubs across the country and unloaded grain from Ukrainian freight wagons at the Medyka border crossing.

The government's warning refers to images from the Silesian town of Gorzyczki, which were published by several Polish media outlets. The images showed a tractor with a Soviet flag and a poster with the inscription: "Putin, clean up Ukraine, Brussels and our rulers."

The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the farmer for "propaganda for fascism, communism or another authoritarian form of rule" and incitement to hatred.

Poland is one of the closest political and military allies of Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia. The EU and NATO country has taken in around one million refugees from there.