A few days ago, three Poles beat up a young couple from Ukraine, causing them wounds that had to be sewn up. The young woman's ear was almost torn off, and her 21-year-old boyfriend was kicked in the head, reports the “Süddeutsche Zeitung“ and informs that the violence was filmed by two cameras in a parking lot in Wrocław. Previously, the Polish men insulted the young woman because of her nationality, and this is by no means the first incident of this nature - incited by hatred and xenophobia. The German publication also tells about another case from the southern Polish city of Bielsko-Biała. There, on a public transport bus, a man addressed vulgar words to an 11-year-old Ukrainian girl and urged her to go home.
In Wrocław, a 19-year-old young man was attacked while speaking Ukrainian to his parents on the phone. In Gdynia, a 76-year-old man was detained for hitting a 40-year-old Ukrainian woman on the head with a cane. There are reports of such incidents almost every week, writes “Süddeutsche Zeitung“ and cites police statistics, according to which in the first half of 2026 there was a 30 percent increase in attacks by Poles against Ukrainians compared to the previous year.
Over 1 million Ukrainians live and work in Poland
There are about 1.7 million Ukrainians in Poland, they are 70 percent of the foreigners living in the country, the German publication reported. Most adults work and pay more in taxes and social security contributions than they cost the state.
However, Donald Tusk's government has reduced these benefits, continues the “Süddeutsche Zeitung“ and explains that this was probably done under pressure from the right-wing opposition. But while the ruling political forces continue to support Ukraine, almost all opposition parties are now firmly against further aid to the neighboring country, including calling for its immediate suspension.
The UPA and Volyn Massacre Disputes
The representative of the right-wing nationalist “PiS“ Przemysław Czarnek, its leading candidate for the 2027 parliamentary elections, for example, says that Ukraine should join the EU only when it recognizes the massacres committed by the Ukrainian army against the Polish civilian population during World War II as genocide. He accuses Ukraine of honoring and protecting fascists and Bandera supporters, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The German publication also quotes the leader of the Law and Justice party, Jarosław Kaczyński, as saying that he wants Russia to suffer defeat, but is "against Banderism," referring to the supporters of the Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung notes that until a few years ago, such a tone was heard only from right-wing extremists in Poland. In particular, today's MEP Grzegorz Braun was already leading defamatory campaigns against Ukrainians in 2022. And the far-right "Confederation" immediately joined his accusations that helping refugees from the war cost the state too much. One of its leaders - Krzysztof Bosak - said in early 2025 that Poland should stop respecting Kiev's interests more than its own.
Braun's party "Crown of Poland" is considered pro-Russian. But his words about Ukraine were adopted by the entire right-wing camp, including "Law and Justice", writes "Süddeutsche Zeitung". In line with Russian propaganda is the one-sided assessment of Polish-Ukrainian history during World War II, writes the German media. And now, quite a few Polish politicians are warning about alleged fascists in Ukraine, among them President Karol Nawrocki, a historian by profession. The main issue is the Volyn massacre, when fighters from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) killed tens of thousands of Polish civilians during World War II. They also collaborated with the Wehrmacht before becoming its victims themselves, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung. In Ukraine, they are revered for their fight against the Soviet Union.
Fighting social envy
Attacks against Ukrainians in Poland have increased after the scandal surrounding the UPA, which President Zelensky awarded with an award, and Poland officially protested. But this is far from the only reason. Rather, it is about an Internet campaign with pro-Russian propaganda, which began in the year of the Russian invasion, which is only now yielding real results, writes the Swiss “Neue Zürcher Zeitung".
This campaign, according to the publication, relies on inciting social envy towards refugees from Ukraine, who were allegedly overly favored by the authorities. This perception became established after cases of abuse of social benefits by Ukrainians who later left the country became known. Today, slightly more than half of Poles believe that state support for Ukrainians is too generous. These disinformation campaigns, often supported by Russian “troll factories“, should be seen as a tool for the Kremlin's hybrid war, the Swiss publication comments.
Bilyana Mihaylova editor