Polish far-right trial raises spectre of 'false flag' tactics

German journalist with links to Russia allegedly organised arson attack in Ukraine to stoke tensions, court told

Shaun Walker in Budapest, Christian Davies in Warsaw and Emily Schultheis in Berlin
Sun 27 Jan 2019 11.02 GMT

The plot allegedly involved three Polish extremists and a German journalist with ties to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, as well as to a number of Kremlin-friendly Russian news outlets.

Their alleged task was to carry out a “false flag” operation in western Ukraine: burn down a Hungarian cultural centre, and make it look as though Ukrainian nationalists were responsible. The main beneficiary of the ensuing recriminations would be Russia.

If this was the idea, the fire last February in the town of Uzhhorod had the desired effect. There were no casualties, but tensions were inflamed in the Ukrainian region, which has a sizeable ethnic Hungarian minority.

Hungarian authorities were quick to blame Ukrainian nationalists for the attack, and the anger contributed to the increasingly fraught relationship between Budapest and Kiev over the past year, which has caused cracks in EU and Nato solidarity in support of Ukraine.

Now, a year later in a Kraków courtroom, new details of what happened in Uzhhorod last year have been emerging.

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