Poland accuses Russia of using darknet to recruit Poles for election interference

Poland's Minister of Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski, has accused Russia of using the darknet to recruit Polish citizens in an attempt to interfere with the country’s presidential election campaign.

Gawkowski said in an interview with Reuters that Russia is seeking to recruit Poles willing to influence the election campaign from within the country, offering €3,000–4,000 to spread disinformation.  

The minister added that these recruitment efforts are carried out via the darknet, a hidden part of the internet accessible only through specialised browsers. He noted that Poland has been monitoring such activities since the beginning of the year.  

"This is money directed from the Russian services GRU and FSB, which are looking for such patrons of their content here," he said.

Karol Nawrocki, a Polish presidential candidate backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, recently declared that he does not envision Ukraine "as part of either the EU or NATO", drawing criticism both domestically, including from Donald Tusk, and from official Kyiv.  

The Polish opposition labelled the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's response to this statement as "election interference".