Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has condemned a wave of attacks on Ukrainians after a violent assault in Wrocław that was captured on video. Two suspects have been arrested and police say the attack had a nationalist motive. Kyiv has demanded an impartial investigation, while tensions have been stoked by recent political disputes. Poland hosts about 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens, and reported hate crimes are up sharply this year.
Tusk Condemns Surge in Anti‑Ukrainian Violence After Brutal Wrocław Attack
FILE PHOTO - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, speaks during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured), at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. (is associated with: «Prime Minister Tusk condemns violence against Ukrainians in Poland») Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Poland's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has strongly condemned a rising tide of violence against Ukrainians in Poland following a particularly brutal assault on a Ukrainian couple in Wrocław that was widely shared on social media.
Attack in Wrocław and Official Reaction
Video footage circulating online shows three men attacking a young Ukrainian woman and her partner. The footage appears to show the assailants kicking the man while he was on the ground; the woman was struck on the head with a knuckle duster and suffered injuries to her ear. Police have arrested two suspects, both reportedly with prior convictions for similar offences.
"All of this is being destroyed right now if we allow thugs, hooligans and common criminals to beat and humiliate people simply because they have a slightly different accent," Tusk said in Warsaw, decrying the erosion of public solidarity toward refugees.
A police spokeswoman said investigators believe the attack was driven by a nationalist motive. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha urged an impartial and objective probe and appealed to "certain Polish politicians" not to inflame tensions — a reference widely understood to mean Poland's head of state, Karol Nawrocki.
Context And Growing Concerns
Many Ukrainians have lived and worked in Poland for years, and following Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion Polish authorities welcomed refugees and supported integration efforts. Today there are about 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens in Poland.
But resentment has grown in parts of Polish society. The national newspaper Rzeczpospolita, citing police headquarters figures, reported 180 recorded hate crimes against Ukrainians in the first half of this year — roughly a one-third increase compared with the same period last year.
Prime Minister Tusk has appealed directly to President Nawrocki to speak out against violence. The row comes after Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland's highest honour amid a historical dispute — a decision that has been linked to a rise in anti‑Ukrainian sentiment, particularly among far‑right groups.
Polish and Ukrainian officials say a transparent, impartial investigation is essential to ensure justice and to stem further escalation of hostility toward Ukraine's citizens living in Poland.
Help us improve.
