#Russia Telegram channels are posting photos of alleged voting cards for referendum on… annexation of Western #Ukraine to

Apart from using wrong stamps and checkboxes identical to the ones used in Russian referendum, legality of such referendum raises some questions as the authors of the fake allege it was announced by… Polish Voting Commission.

In an actual “annexation” by Russian scenario there should be some kind of quasi-government in Ukraine itself that announces such referendum, and then asks Poland to accept it.

The fakes about Poland willing to annex part of Ukraine have an interesting history: in 2014, then Russia first invaded Ukraine, a fringe Russian politician Zhirinovsky published an appeal to Polish far-right parties, basically offering them to split Ukraine between Poland and Russia. Such plans never gained any traction in Poland, but they were periodically revived by Russian propaganda.

Latest iteration was when Russian media amplified comment by Polish president Duda who said that he hopes there will be no longer dividing border between Poles and Ukrainians, in the context of Ukraine applying to European Union, with president Zelensky standing next to him. Russians of course presented it as yet another nefarious annexation plan…