The threat from Russian official Nikolái Pátrushev that Poland could cease to exist as a state in just "two or three days" in the event of a military conflict with Russia sparked a flood of reactions on social media, where mockery, irony, and comparisons to the prolonged war in Ukraine were abundant.
The post from CiberCuba on Facebook garnered thousands of comments, and one of the most repeated responses was to remind that the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, continues more than four years later.
‘In three days’... where have I heard that before?
"Ha, ha, ha, what a joke. Just like Ukraine," commented another, while someone sarcastically asked: "How is the special military operation against Ukraine going? It was supposed to be a three-day thing, right?".
"With Ukraine, it was supposed to be three days," "They said the same about Ukraine," "Just like Ukraine," and "Didn’t they say the same about Ukraine?" were some of the many variations of the same response that were repeated in the conversation.
Others took the joke a bit further: "For Russia, three days are like ten years", wrote one person. "Three days of light in outer space", joked another.
The joke of the week, summarized another comment.
"He can't handle Ukraine and wants to make Poland disappear."
Beyond jokes about the "three days," numerous comments questioned Moscow's ability to carry out a threat of such magnitude and once again used the war in Ukraine as a point of comparison.
«They haven't been able to deal with Ukraine, will they be able to with Poland?», asked a user. «They can't handle Ukraine and they want to erase Poland», pointed out another.
«If he can't handle Ukraine, how will he handle NATO?», someone else wrote, while another reacted: «You can't believe anything he says anymore, especially since they haven't even managed to handle Ukraine.»
The phrases followed in the same tone: "They haven’t been able to handle Ukraine in five years, so now they'll manage Poland in two or three days"; "That's what they said about Ukraine"; "They said the same about Ukraine"; "Just like Ukraine"; "Hahaha, just like Ukraine, in days."
There were also those who burst out laughing: "Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha, five years with Ukraine and nothing"; "Hahaha, just like Ukraine"; or simply "Haha, hahaha."
«Russia is a joke», stated one user. Another claimed that «Russia no longer frightens anyone», while a third described the warning as «the always-existing nuclear threat».
"Four years ago I heard that. A barking dog doesn’t bite," pointed out another comment. "Again?" asked another user succinctly.
Poland and NATO, another recurring argument
Poland's membership in NATO was also mentioned repeatedly among the reactions. Several users noted that a potential confrontation with Warsaw would have very different implications due to its status as a member of the Atlantic Alliance.
“Is Poland unarmed?”, asked one. “Touch Poland and see how they fare in Russia”, wrote another.
«Opening a second front would be disastrous for Russia», stated another participant in the debate, while someone else wrote: «Cuba forgotten by Russia on the brink of disaster. If it can't handle Ukraine, it's going to get involved with NATO».
One of the more extensive comments pointed out that Poland is a member of NATO and suggested that talking about "wiping Poland off the map in two or three days" seemed more like a strategy of intimidation than a realistic description of a potential conflict.
Poland has been a member of the Atlantic Alliance since 1999 and is protected by the principle of collective defense established in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an armed attack against one member shall be considered an attack against all, although each ally determines the measures it deems necessary to provide assistance.
Not all reactions were against Russia
Although mocking and comparisons with Ukraine featured prominently in the reviewed comments, there were also voices that defended Russia's military capability or questioned whether the two scenarios could be directly compared.
"The war between Russia and Ukraine is very different from that with another country, especially if it's a NATO member," noted a user.
Another stated that "Russia has all the power to do it" due to its capability in bombs and missiles, while a third defended that Moscow is deliberately maintaining the war in Ukraine under the current conditions. These claims reflect the opinions expressed by users and not established facts by CiberCuba.
There were also comments that appealed to Russia's nuclear arsenal to defend Moscow's destructive capacity, while others responded that Russia is not the only nuclear power and that a direct confrontation would drastically increase the risk of international escalation.
From threat to mockery
The controversy began after Pátrushev, an advisor to President Vladimir Putin and former secretary of the Russian Security Council, responded to statements made by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
In an interview published on September 15 by the Russian weekly Argumenty i Fakty, Pátrushev stated that if Poland were to engage in military actions against Russia, Moscow would utilize the arsenal of forces and resources at its disposal, and the state condition of Poland would disappear in "two or three days."
The warning aimed to highlight the potential consequences of a direct confrontation with Moscow, but on the networks of CiberCuba, the phrase "two or three days" ended up becoming the main target of mockery.
«And Ukraine, how is that easy project going?», a user asked ironically.
"So he said when he was about to launch the attack on Ukraine, and look where things are now, nothing. Should we believe him?" wrote another.
«Am I going to ask Ukraine what they think about this?», someone else joked.
And another encapsulated the tone of many reactions in a question: "Just like Ukraine disappeared?"
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