Click on the player icon above for an audio report on the pre-electoral surge of disinformation campaigns targeting Poland, prepared by Marcin Matuszewski.
Speaking at the Defence24 Days conference in Warsaw, Gawkowski said Russia had intensified its hybrid operations against Poland's “infosphere” and critical infrastructure, aiming to disrupt the democratic process.
"We are seeing a combination of disinformation in the infosphere and hybrid attacks on our critical systems designed to paralyze normal state functions," he told the conference.
He added that Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) had doubled its activity in Poland compared with last year, targeting both cybersecurity responsibilities and the wider information space.
"This is an unprecedented attempt to interfere in our elections by Russia," Gawkowski warned.
Poles will head to the ballot box on May 18 to elect their next president, with a runoff scheduled for June 1 if no candidate wins an outright majority.
(jh/gs/mm)
Source: PAP