Res Futura analyzed the reception of President Zelensky’s interview for the Ukrainian TSN channel in Polish social media. Polish internet users did not leave Zelensky any room for leniency. According to 84 percent of users (with an online reach of 16 million), the President of Ukraine “crossed the line of threats and lies toward an ally that supports him”. Only 16 percent held a different view.
“Zelensky compared Nawrocki to Orbán, called on him to come to Kyiv, and stated that without Ukraine Poland will not be safe – and these claims generated sixteen million in reach within just a few hours. The interview for Ukrainian television TSN, given after Zelensky was stripped of the Order of the White Eagle, functioned in public discourse like separate charges detonating with a slight delay,” the analysis by Res Futura analysts reads.
Experts go on to list the reactions: “The first to explode was the comparison to Orbán, along with the phrase ‘it will end badly’ – interpreted not as a political warning, but as a threat from a state dependent on Polish assistance. Second: the disclosure of the story about a book on Volhynia presented during the welcome, which was immediately interpreted in discourse as proof of Zelensky’s deliberate disregard for Polish victims – since he knew, yet still named a unit after the UPA. Third: the invitation for the Polish president to come to Kyiv as a ‘matter of respect’ – perceived by a dominant part of the discourse as arrogance from someone who can only reach his own table thanks to others’ generosity. Fourth: the claim that without Ukraine, Poland will not survive – seen as manipulation and blackmail rather than geopolitical argumentation”
Res Futura emphasizes that “each of these statements triggered a separate wave of outrage, and together they created a discourse that for the first several hours was almost entirely one-sided. The solidarity narrative, still visible in the initial reactions, was consistently crushed in the comments. Meanwhile, voices calling for concrete sanctions are growing – the closure of the Jasionka airport, suspension of military aid, and deportation of Ukrainians from Poland”.
