Most Ukrainians in Poland do not want to return home — poll

According to a survey by the international staffing and outsourcing agency Smart Solutions HR, more than 65% of Ukrainians who emigrated to Poland want to stay there.

Representatives from various countries took part in the study, though Ukrainians made up more than 90% of respondents.

The primary motivation for relocating and not wanting to return was cited as financial and life opportunities unavailable in their home country. At the same time, adapting to a new place proves difficult for many: more than 50% of study participants identified the language barrier as the main obstacle. Another 43% of respondents named the attitude of Polish society as an additional problem.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Warsaw, Vasyl Bondar, previously stated in an interview with the RBK-Ukraine agency that aggression is being directed toward his compatriots. According to the diplomat, many Ukrainians in Poland feel anxious and are afraid to speak their native language in public places.

Against the backdrop of this data, Ukrainian-Polish relations are experiencing a deterioration. At the end of May, Volodymyr Zelensky assigned the name of “heroes of the UPA” (the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) to one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units. In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of the country’s highest state honor — the Order of the White Eagle. Warsaw has expressed serious concern over the glorification of Banderites in Ukraine and has emphasized that Kyiv will not be admitted to the European Union under the Banderite flag.