A tale of two nations.
As the bilateral relations between neighboring countries, Poland and Ukraine, deteriorate, the situation of 1,5 million Ukrainian long-term economic migrants and 1 million war refugees in Poland is becoming ever more dramatic.
(Poland has 37 million people, so Ukrainians are almost 7% of the population.)
Even if UN numbers are correct and only 31% of Ukrainian refugees are on welfare, that’s still around 300,000.
Poland extended a warm welcome to over a million Ukrainian refugees and migrants after the start of the war in 2022.
Back then, with polls showing near-universal public support for this policy (around 94%).
By now, attitudes have shifted amid economic pressures and historical disputes, after Ukraine honored Nazi collaborators who massacred Poles in WW2.
Now, support for accepting Ukrainian refugees dropped immensely, and, for the first time, opposition is exceeding support.
Polish Police data shows a clear spike in anti-Ukrainian incidents, from verbal abuse to physical assaults.
Reuters reported:
“Police received 180 reports of alleged hate crimes against Ukrainian citizens in the first half of the year, an increase of more than 30%.
The number of nationality-motivated attacks in Poland is steadily increasing, according to data provided to the Polish press by the National Police Headquarters.”
As much as 180 incidents of this kind were reported to Polish police in the first half of 2026.
“In 2024, Ukrainians living in Poland filed 267 reports of alleged hate crimes. In 2025, that number rose to 275. The 180 reports filed in the first half of 2026 already represent an increase of more than 30% compared with the same period last year, and nearly 35% compared with 2024.”
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