Ukraine Warns Viral Polish Kindergarten Video Misrepresented to Push Disinformation

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said a video circulating in Poland that purported to show Polish kindergarten children being forced to sing Ukraine’s national anthem was being used in a manipulation campaign, according to a statement on January 12. 

The center said the footage was an archival recording first published in March 2023 on the official page of a municipal kindergarten in the city of Słupsk, and that it was filmed during a themed “Ukraine Day” event intended to help integrate and support Ukrainian children whose families had sought refuge in Poland after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Polish fact-checking outlet Demagog cited a spokeswoman for the Słupsk city hall as saying, “No child was forced to do anything,” adding that parents were informed and involved, and that the performance was voluntary and symbolic. 

Polish media reported the video began spreading widely again on January 6 after it was shared by lawmakers including Dariusz Matecki, who presented it as evidence of alleged “Ukrainization” in Polish education, while independent polish media said there was no confirmation of coercion and emphasized the recording’s 2023 origin. 

Earlier, it was reported that Polish prosecutors supported Ukraine’s request to extradite Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin over allegations of illegal excavations in occupied Crimea that damaged cultural heritage sites.

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