France, Germany, Poland to launch Ukraine anti-disinformation drive

The top diplomats of France, Germany and Poland were set on Monday to launch a joint initiative to fight Russian disinformation attacks as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine enters a third year.

The trio will meet at a historic chateau outside Paris as Polish Prime Minister and former EU chief Donald Tusk visits France and Germany on Monday to tighten Warsaw’s cooperation with Paris and Berlin.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne will host German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and Radoslaw Sikorski of Poland at the Chateau de La Celle-Saint-Cloud just outside Paris.

Sejourne said at the weekend that France, Germany and Poland would unveil a new cooperation agreement to combat foreign disinformation operations, particularly those originating in Russia.

The ministers were expected to also report on Moscow’s new information attacks against the three countries.

“Our three countries have been victims of the same destabilization strategy,” Sejourne said in an interview with French regional daily Ouest-France published on Saturday.

Sejourne said that the trio would reveal “the attacks that have been committed,” adding such disinformation attacks were designed to divide public opinion.

Kremlin critics say Russia has for years used troll factories and fake news websites to spread disinformation in the West.

After Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow ramped up efforts to promote a pro-Kremlin narrative.

Paris, Berlin and Warsaw are hoping to ramp up cooperation and reinvigorate the so-called “Weimar Triangle” format initially created in 1991 to enable concerted European action.