Polish FM warns of possible “false flag” provocation from Russia

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has warned that Moscow may be preparing a staged “false flag” operation to justify further escalation with Western countries, in comments posted on the social media platform X.

Sikorski said he expected “a false-flag attack on Russian territory” that could be used as a pretext for retaliation, drawing a historical parallel to Nazi Germany’s 1939 Gleiwitz radio station incident, which was used to justify the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, Caliber.Az reports. 

To brzmi jak zapowiedź prowokacji.
Spodziewam się ataku na terytorium Rosji pod fałszywą flagą, na który Putin ‚odpowie.’
Przypominam, że w sierpniu 1939 roku Abwehra zaaranżowała ‚polski’ atak na radiostację w Gliwicach aby dać sobie pretekst do wojny.https://t.co/HU0S7sWvRm

— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) June 23, 2026

“Today’s signals sound like an announcement of a provocation,” Sikorski wrote, adding that such an operation could be followed by a Russian response framed as defensive action.

The warning comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and European states, following remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin to graduates of military academies. Putin said Russia would carry out retaliatory strikes against European countries if drones launched from their territory were used against Russian targets.

By Sabina Mammadli