The article cited a violent incident in Szczecin, where a Ukrainian couple speaking their native language with their young daughter were verbally abused by a stranger who told them to “teach your daughter to speak Polish,” before physically attacking them. The assailant was later sentenced to 14 months in prison.
While the exact scale of such verbal and physical assaults is unclear — as many go unreported — surveys suggest a sharp decline in public support for Ukrainians. In March 2022, 94% of Poles supported accepting Ukrainian refugees; by late 2024, that figure had dropped to 48%, according to data cited by the Guardian.
“There is an attitude in society that we don’t owe anything to the Ukrainians anymore,” Piotr Buras, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations office in Warsaw, told the newspaper.
According to the Guardian, online disinformation and Nawrocki’s election as president have shifted the national conversation further to the right. One example cited was the president’s August veto of a bill extending social benefits for Ukrainian nationals.
“Ukrainians are more often portrayed as ungrateful and hungry for benefits,” the paper wrote, “despite economic data showing they are net contributors to the Polish economy.”
Oleksandr Pestrykov from the Ukrainian House Foundation in Warsaw said anti-Ukrainian rhetoric surged online in 2023, but initially led to only sporadic complaints.
“But starting from summer, we’ve had a pretty large number of people reporting attacks to us, thankfully so far mostly verbal attacks,” he told the paper.
Buras said the earlier outpouring of support in 2022 was exceptional. “Now we are kind of returning to normal,” he said, noting that Polish attitudes are shaped by complex historical grievances — including memories of the World War II-era Volhynia massacre — which allow for anti-Ukrainian sentiment even amid staunch anti-Russian views.
“In most countries, being anti-Ukrainian means also being pro-Russian,” Buras said. “But not in Poland.”
Despite the tensions, not all Ukrainian experiences in Poland are negative. Citing a 2024 report from Poland’s National Bank, the Guardian noted that 58% of Ukrainians hope their children will continue living in Poland “for many years.”
(jh)
Source: PAP, Guardian