The modern battlefield has shifted far beyond the reach of artillery and infantry; it has migrated into the digital spaces we scroll through every day. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski recently issued a stark warning that Russia is no longer merely attempting to influence public opinion, but is instead waging a “full-scale cognitive war” against the entire Western alliance. Addressing a conference in Warsaw, Sikorski framed this as a tactical pivot in which the Kremlin weaponizes human psychology to degrade our collective resilience. By embedding itself into the fabric of our societies through layers of anonymity and complex disinformation networks, Moscow is attempting to break the ideological and political foundations that define democratic stability in our region.
The scale of this operation is staggering and represents a significant economic investment by the Kremlin. According to the Foreign Minister, Russia has poured over $6 billion into its propaganda apparatus since the invasion of Ukraine, with a record $1.4 billion allocated in 2025 alone. This financial commitment dwarfs the resources the European Union currently spends on countering foreign manipulation. For Russia, the goal is simple but lethal: to keep Western societies in a state of perpetual polarization. By stoking internal divisions and undermining democratic trust, they make our countries far easier to destabilize. As Sikorski noted, this isn’t just about sharing fake news; it is about systematically dismantling our resolve to resist influence.
Perhaps the most troubling assertion made by the Foreign Minister is the admission that a “Russian fifth column” is operating beneath the surface within Poland’s own borders. While the exact identities remain under state scrutiny, the presence of these actors is no longer hypothetical. The Polish government has spent the last year arresting individuals accused of serving as local conduits for Russian intelligence. These hybrid threats range from professional agitators looking to incite panic about domestic resources to individuals tasking themselves with surveillance of NATO troops or even undergoing combat training in preparation for potential acts of sabotage meant to weaken the nation from within.
Recent history in Poland provides uncomfortable evidence of how deep this infiltration has gone. In 2024, state authorities reported that Russian-linked accounts weaponized natural disasters, such as severe flooding, by spreading fabrications about death tolls to erode trust in state institutions. Other efforts have focused on the delicate social fabric of the country, specifically targeting the relationship between the Polish public and their Ukrainian neighbors. From the vandalism of historical memorials to the infiltration of far-right political circles, the aim remains consistent: to isolate Poland from its allies and internalize the chaos of a proxy war. Even members of the nation’s security agencies have not remained untouched, with intelligence cases surfacing involving members of the Territorial Defence Force.
The political dimension of this cognitive war is perhaps its most visible, if not its most dangerous, front. Figures like far-right leader Grzegorz Braun have gained traction by parroting Kremlin talking points, such as the baseless conspiracy theory that the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones was a “false flag” event staged by the Polish government. That such rhetoric can gain a following—as evidenced by polling numbers for his party reaching into the single digits—suggests that the cognitive warfare is working. When political candidates under trial for espionage can still compete for seats in parliament, it serves as a glaring testament to how effectively external interests have managed to exploit the democratic process for their own ends.
Data from the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism highlights that Poland has become the premier target in Europe for these acts of Russian-orchestrated sabotage. The statistics released by Poland’s Internal Security Agency are sobering: there were twice as many espionage investigations launched in 2025 as in the previous year, and when counting the last two years combined, the volume of activity eclipsed the total number of investigations conducted over the previous three decades. As we move forward, the challenge for Poland and its allies will be to maintain a free and open society while hardening our psychological defenses against an adversary that views our very divisions as an opportunity to be exploited. Notes from Poland remains committed to reporting on these critical issues, though we rely entirely on reader support to keep this independent scrutiny alive.