In the light of current events, there is constantly a huge amount of content regarding politicians involved to a different extent and in different ways in ongoing crisis in Ukraine. We chose the most representative/commented ones on PL Internet. Thus, on the one hand, we have Western leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the other – Russian President Wladimir Putin.
Last week there was a significant increase in activity - understood as the intensification of discussions about aforementioned politicians - mainly due to the NATO summit in Madrid.
The largest number of entries in Poland applies to President Andrzej Duda raising strong emotions among Internet users, especially during the NATO summit but also in the context of the controversial comments by Ambassador Melnyk concerning Polish-Ukrainian relations. President Duda was praised for his contribution to the achievements of the NATO summit. On the other hand, he was criticized for not reacting to Melnyk’s words.
During this period, Putin draws attention especially after the Kremenchuk mall attack. The assessment of this attack by Internet users is unequivocally condemning (‘Putin recognized as a war criminal’). Putin appears also in the context of oncoming G-20 summit. After European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the potential presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin at November’s G20 summit in Indonesia shouldn’t be a reason for Western leaders to block the meeting, there is a narrative saying that Germany wants to normalize relations with Russia (‘Von der Leyen wants G20 summit with Putin’).
This week name of the Ukrainian President showed up very often in the context of Melnyk's interview in the narrative ‘Ukraine against Poland’ (Zelenskyy criticized for the lack of proper reaction).
After the NATO summit, Internet users praised Joe Biden for the role he played in reaching agreement on Finland&Sweden and for what he has announced in Madrid (narrative ‘Possible permanent U.S. military presence in Poland’). On the other hand, the same fact triggered the narrative that this could lead to Poland being next battleground after Ukrainian defeat (‘Fiasco of the NATO summit - Poland in the center of military events in case of further Russian aggression’).
Macron and Scholz gained less attention than in earlier weeks, mostly being criticized for their alleged pro-Russian attitude (‘France and Germany are a pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian coalition’). At the end of the week, alleged words of chancellor Scholz regarding the Russia-NATO Founding Treaty suggesting that NATO should not station troops on the eastern flank, fueled the narrative ‘Germany is Poland's enemy’.