Germany fact-checks Russia for defending 1939 invasion of Poland

Germany reacted incredulously to Russia defending its decision to invade Poland at the outset of World War II and claiming it only wanted to protect the local Ukrainian and Belarusian populations.

Russia’s foreign ministry posted a video on social media Tuesday marking the 85^th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland in 1939, together with Nazi Germany. The two powers secretly agreed to carve up the country between them in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, with the invasion triggering the start of World War II.

“On September 17, 1939, the Red Army launched a military operation in Poland’s eastern regions, preventing the genocide of the population of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine,” Russia’s foreign ministry wrote on X.

In the video, Russia said that portraying the Soviet Union as the “aggressor” was “at odds with historical truth,” and claimed it was left with no choice but to invade Poland because otherwise Germany would have seized all Polish territory, leaving Russia in a weak strategic position.

“The Soviet Union also sought to ensure the safety of the Ukrainian and Belarusian population in Poland,” the ministry added.

???? On September 17, 1939, the Red Army launched a military operation in Poland’s eastern regions, preventing the genocide of the population of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine.https://t.co/Gps92yP6b7 pic.twitter.com/7rEZIKU7vA— MFA Russia ???????? (@mfa_russia) September 17, 2024

Germany’s foreign ministry replied to Russia’s post Thursday with a single word: “Seriously?”

It also posted a map of Poland, signed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and Nazi Germany’s Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, showing how the country would be divided between them, with the hashtags “#MolotovRibbentropPact” and “#HitlerStalinPact.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long promoted pseudo-historical theories to justify Moscow’s historical and current aggression, including against neighboring Ukraine, which it has been fighting since 2014.

In an interview with American conservative pundit Tucker Carlson earlier this year, Putin said Poland was to blame for Nazi Germany invading it — leading to an angry rebuke and fact check from the Polish foreign ministry.