Reacting to a video that went viral on social media, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on his compatriots to put an end to hate crimes against Ukrainians living in the country.
The video, recorded in Wrocław on Sunday, July 26th, shows three Polish citizens assaulting a Ukrainian man and his girlfriend following an argument in a store. According to reports in the Ukrainian media, the young couple was attacked because of their accent. Ukraine’s Consulate General in Wrocław has called for a swift response from Polish law enforcement agencies to the incident. Polish authorities detained two of the attackers.
Tusk said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that “Anyone who commits such vile acts is acting directly against Poland’s interests. You are working against Poland, in favour of Russia and in favour of Polish and Ukrainian nationalism.”
In Poland public sympathy for Ukrainian refugees has declined over the years. This is despite Warsaw being a committed supporter of Ukraine since the outbreak of the war in 2022.
Polish-Ukrainian relations worsened after public recognition by Volodymyr Zelensky of the “heroism” of a WWII Ukrainian army unit that was responsible for the murder of thousands of ethnic Poles.
In response, as europeanconservative.com recently reported, Polish president Karol Nawrocki revoked his country’s highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle, from the Ukrainian president in June. In protest, several Ukrainian public figures and politicians, including the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw, renounced the state honors they had previously received from Poland.
