Russia aims to destabilise Poland and stop America from following up on promises to send troops to Poland’s eastern border, political scientist Jerzy Targalski has said.

In July, a NATO summit in Warsaw decided to increase the alliance's military presence on its eastern flank, including a US battalion in Poland.

"From the Russian point of view, the most important thing is that Poland is destabilised so that Poland stops being a serious country," Targalski told Radio Poland.

"... So that it becomes a place where it will not be viable for US troops to be sent, because it is unknown what unrest and riots can occur," he added.

According to Targalski, recent clashes with police which ensued after a Pole was allegedly killed by two North African nationals in retaliation for an alleged theft of two drink bottles from a Kebab restaurant in Ełk, in north-eastern Poland, though coincidental, is an example of the destabilisation that is on the Russian agenda.

He said Poland reflects the situation in Europe – which includes racial tensions amid a refugee crisis – and this may be used to manipulate people into riots.

He said tensions were like a "highly flammable material, which has been amassed" and that "it is enough to make the right suggestion... find the right [group of people] which can be manipulated".

"In a prepared provocation, where the victim is a Russian, it would be possible to start a campaign against Poland, in which case the campaign would have great significance on the European stage," Targalski said.

"Something like that would be helpful for Russia for instance ahead of elections or just after elections in Western Europe – there will be elections in France, in Germany and pro-Russian governments will be strengthened – so they need to be supplied some sort of pretext to take a position against Poland as a country which incites conflicts," and is prejudiced against Russia, he added.

The only way to defuse this, Targalski said, is to infiltrate and control groups which are susceptible to provocation.

Targalski also said that Russia is observing everything that happens in Poland, adding that four drones that violated Poland’s airspace last year were testing the country’s vigilance and reaction. (vb/ał/rg)