![Fact Check: The CIA Does NOT Rule Ukraine And The EU From Poland](https://slovensky.leadstories.com/assets_c/2023/07/screenshot_3486256-thumb-352xauto-3116958.jpg)
Does the CIA rule the European Union and Ukraine from Poland? No, that's not true: While the CIA did have a strong relationship with Poland in the past, this connection has been waning since approximately 2005.
Presently, the relationship between the CIA and the Polish government remains active, as demonstrated, for instance, by CIA Director William J. Burns' visit to Poland in March 2022. Nevertheless, there is no evidence to support the claim that the CIA exercises any form of control over the governance of the country.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by @tinamartina316.g on July 22, 2023, with the title "Who rules Ukraine and the EU states?". The speaker in the video does not include this statement in his speech, but the video had a sticker text which read:
The American CIA rules Ukraine and the states of EU from Poland!
(Translated by Slovak Lead Stories Staff)
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 15:39:23 2023 UTC)
The claim that Poland rules the European Union is also not true. For one, the EU is not ruled by one particular party or state. The EU is governed by the principle of representative democracy, with citizens of member states directly represented at the EU level in the European Parliament and the Member States represented in the European Council and the Council of the European Union. Poland has even had legal disputes with the European Union and waged an anti-EU policy campaign.
The CIA has played an important role during the Russian war against Ukraine, however, it doesn't rule the country. This is supported by the uncertainty the agency has about Volodymyr Zelenskyy's thinking and intentions; the Nord Stream attack in September 2022, which evidence suggests, has been performed by Ukraine, with the U.S. administration knowing about the plans, yet being unable to stop them; or the drone attacks on the Kremlin, to which Washington reacted with displeasure, all highlight the CIA's lack of control over the President of Ukraine.