When Solidarity Frays: The Alarming Rise in Racist Attacks on Ukrainians in Poland

Sunday 2 August 2026

For much of the period following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland stood as one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies. Millions of Ukrainian refugees crossed the Polish border and were received with remarkable generosity. Ordinary Polish families opened their homes, municipalities mobilised emergency assistance and civil society demonstrated a level of compassion that will remain one of Europe’s finest responses to the greatest refugee crisis on the continent since the Second World War.

That extraordinary solidarity has not disappeared. The overwhelming majority of Poles continue to reject xenophobia and continue to support Ukraine’s struggle for national survival. Yet recent weeks have witnessed a deeply troubling increase in racist and xenophobic attacks directed against Ukrainians living in Poland. These incidents deserve condemnation not merely because they represent criminal acts but because they threaten to undermine one of the most important strategic and moral partnerships in contemporary Europe.

The most widely reported incident occurred in Wrocław, where a Ukrainian man and his partner were violently assaulted by a group of Polish men. The attack, captured on video and widely circulated online, prompted outrage throughout both countries. Polish authorities arrested suspects and Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded with unusual forcefulness, declaring that hatred directed against Ukrainians was contrary to Poland’s national interest and served only those who wished to divide Europe.

The Wrocław assault has not been an isolated event. Polish police have reported approximately 180 suspected hate crimes targeting Ukrainians during the first half of 2026, representing an increase of more than thirty per cent compared with the same period the previous year. These reports include physical assaults, verbal abuse, intimidation and xenophobic harassment in a number of Polish cities. Although police reports are allegations that require investigation and are not all ultimately confirmed as criminal offences, the upward trend itself has caused understandable concern among both Polish and Ukrainian officials.

Several factors appear to be contributing to this deterioration in the public atmosphere.

First, there is simple fatigue. After more than four years of large-scale war, economic pressures have accumulated throughout Europe. Inflation, housing shortages and pressure on public services have encouraged some political actors to seek convenient scapegoats. Immigrant communities often become the easiest targets for populist rhetoric, regardless of whether they bear any responsibility for broader economic problems.

Secondly, unresolved historical questions have once again entered political discourse. The legacy of the Volhynia massacres of 1943–44 and the complicated history of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remain profoundly emotional subjects in Poland. Recent controversies surrounding official Ukrainian commemorations have reignited these historical disputes, creating fertile ground for nationalist politicians eager to exploit old grievances for contemporary electoral advantage.

History, however, should illuminate the present rather than imprison it.

The crimes committed during the Second World War deserve honest historical examination by both Poles and Ukrainians. They cannot be ignored or minimised. Equally, they cannot reasonably justify hostility towards millions of contemporary Ukrainians, many of whom were not even born when the Soviet Union still existed, let alone during the horrors of the 1940s. Collective guilt is incompatible with the principles of a democratic society governed by the rule of law.

A third factor is the growing influence of online disinformation. Social media has become an efficient mechanism for amplifying isolated incidents into narratives of collective blame. Researchers and journalists have observed that anti-Ukrainian messaging frequently spreads rapidly through online networks, often combining genuine political disagreements with fabricated or misleading content. Such campaigns exploit existing anxieties and deepen social polarisation.

There is also a strategic dimension that should not be overlooked.

The deterioration of Polish-Ukrainian relations directly benefits the Kremlin. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, Moscow has consistently sought opportunities to weaken the coalition supporting Ukraine. Historical grievances, migration pressures and nationalist sentiment all provide potential fault lines that hostile information operations can exploit. Polish security services have themselves alleged that certain provocations designed to inflame ethnic tensions have been connected to foreign influence operations.

This does not mean that every anti-Ukrainian incident is orchestrated from Moscow. Far from it. Racism has indigenous roots in every society, including democratic ones. Yet it would be strategically naïve to imagine that foreign intelligence services would fail to exploit domestic divisions whenever opportunities arise.

The response of the Polish Government has therefore been significant. Prime Minister Tusk’s unequivocal condemnation sends an important signal that violence against Ukrainians is unacceptable regardless of political disagreements between Warsaw and Kyiv. Law enforcement authorities have acted swiftly in several recent cases, demonstrating that the Polish state remains committed to protecting all lawful residents from hate crime.

Nevertheless policing alone cannot solve the problem.

Political leaders bear a special responsibility for the language they employ. Legitimate debate over refugee policy, economic priorities or historical interpretation must never descend into rhetoric that portrays entire national communities as threats or enemies. Democracies require vigorous disagreement, but they also require an acceptance that every individual deserves equal dignity before the law.

The Ukrainian community in Poland has contributed enormously to the Polish economy, labour market and society. Ukrainian workers have filled shortages across numerous industries. Ukrainian entrepreneurs have established businesses. Ukrainian children attend Polish schools and increasingly speak fluent Polish alongside their native language. Above all, millions of Ukrainians came to Poland not as opportunists but because Russian missiles destroyed their homes, their schools and, in far too many cases, their families.

One should also remember that solidarity has never been a one-way relationship. Ukraine’s continued resistance has substantially enhanced Poland’s own security by preventing Russian military power from advancing further west. Polish military assistance has strengthened Ukraine. Ukrainian resistance has strengthened Poland. This interdependence is often forgotten amidst the noise of domestic political controversy.

Europe’s future security architecture will depend heavily upon continued cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv. That partnership cannot rest solely upon treaties between governments. It must also rest upon mutual respect between ordinary citizens.

Racist attacks against Ukrainians therefore represent more than isolated criminal acts. They constitute attacks upon the moral foundations of European solidarity itself. Every assault weakens the trust painstakingly built since 2022. Every xenophobic slogan gives encouragement to those who hope that democratic Europe will fracture under pressure.

The proper answer is neither historical amnesia nor political correctness. Rather, it is mature democratic confidence: the confidence to acknowledge historical crimes honestly, to prosecute contemporary hate crimes vigorously and to distinguish clearly between legitimate political disagreement and racial hatred.

The friendship between Poland and Ukraine has survived extraordinary trials. It should not now be permitted to succumb to prejudice, disinformation or the politics of resentment. At a moment when Russian aggression continues to threaten the security of the entire continent, Europe can ill afford the luxury of internal division. The enemies of democratic Europe would welcome such fragmentation. Neither Poland nor Ukraine should grant them that victory.