The union between Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, the reports on which appear in the media, is being made for the subsequent occupation of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
"There have been media reports about plans to create a certain so-called Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian union: that is, we are not talking about some gathering of mercenaries, there are enough of them, and they are being destroyed, namely a regular, assembled, equipped military unit that is planned to be used for actions on the territory of Ukraine, including for allegedly ensuring the security of the current Western Ukraine.
And in fact, if you call things by their proper Names for the subsequent occupation of these territories," Putin said at a meeting with permanent members of the Russian Security Council.
According to the Russian head of state, "this will not represent anything new," recalling that after the defeat of Germany and the other Central Powers in World War I, Polish units occupied Lvov and adjacent lands, which were then part of Austria-Hungary.
Moreover, even before 1920, Poland seized part of Lithuania - the Vilna region, which includes modern-day Vilnius.
"Together with the Lithuanians, they [the Poles] were supposedly battling against so-called Russian imperialism, but as soon as the opportunity arose, they immediately ‘carved out’ a chunk of land from their neighbor," the Russian president noted. He further recited how, "Poland also took part in the carve-up of Czechoslovakia resulting from the Munich agreement with Hitler in 1938," completely occupying Cieszyn Silesia.
"In the 1920s and 1930s, the so-called Kresy Wschodnie of Poland [‘Eastern Borderlands’ in Polish ] - and this includes the territory of western Ukraine, western Belarus and part of Lithuania - were subjected to a harsh policy of Polonization and forced assimilation of local residents, suppression of ethnic cultures and Orthodox Christianity," Putin noted.
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Poland could take control of western parts of Ukraine by deploying its troops there, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin said at a meeting that Russian President Vladimir Putin held with the permanent members of the Security Council.
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"Given that, the Polish leadership is getting more determined to impose its control in the western territories of Ukraine, in its western regions, by deploying its troops there," the official said. "One option that is planned is to formalize this step as the fulfillment of allied obligations as part of the Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian security initiative - the so-called Lublin Triangle."
According to the official, Russia sees "that there are plans, in connection with this, to significantly increase the personnel of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian all-arms brigade, which operates under the auspices of this so-called Lublin Triangle."
"It seems to us that these rather dangerous plans of the Polish leadership should be closely watched," Naryshkin said.