Anti-Ukrainian Hate Incidents Surge in Poland Amid Online Hostility

Ukrainian citizens filed 267 such reports in all of 2024 and 275 in 2025, Polish news outlet Rzeczpospolita found, adding that if the current rate continues, the number could reach around 360 by the end of this year. 

Police said that the figures cover reports filed by alleged victims, not crimes confirmed after an investigation. 

The issue attracted national attention after a 54-year-old man insulted two 11-year-old Ukrainian girls travelling on a bus in the southern city of Bielsko-Biała.  

He was detained, charged with publicly insulting them because of their nationality and dismissed from his job as a bus driver. 

Online hostility spills into everyday life 

The rise comes as relations between Poland and Ukraine have worsened over Kyiv’s decision to name an elite military unit after a Ukrainian World War II resistance movement associated with the killing of around 100,000 Polish civilians. 

The decision triggered a major political dispute and led Polish President Karol Nawrocki to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest state honor. 

At the same time, anti-Ukrainian content has spread widely online, with researchers warning that real political tensions are being amplified by Russian information campaigns seeking to divide Poland and Ukraine.  

Research cited by Rzeczpospolita identified 94,000 anti-Ukrainian posts between April and July 2025, during Poland’s presidential election campaign. The posts reached internet users more than 32 million times. 

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The Union of Ukrainians in Poland said hostility often rises around elections, political disputes and sensitive historical anniversaries.  

It also linked the trend to Russian disinformation campaigns seeking to divide Poland and Ukraine. 

Sociologist Jacek Kucharczyk said the true number of incidents was probably higher because some victims were afraid to contact police.