Polish official accuses Kaczyński of inciting hatred toward Ukrainians

Polish government spokesman Adam Szłapka stated that attacks on Ukrainians in Poland are a “pathology” that must be eradicated without mercy, and placed responsibility for such sentiments on the United Right camp and the leader of the Law and Justice party (PiS), Jarosław Kaczyński.

According to Szłapka, the sense of impunity and radical attitudes “do not arise without reason.” The official pointed out that it was Kaczyński who brought radicals into Polish politics — people who use far-right rhetoric and provoke conflicts.

“All of this amounts to actions that, in a certain sense, sanction hatred in the public space. We are fundamentally opposed to this and will simply fight it. The United Right camp let this genie out of the bottle. The consequences are felt on the streets, and these are simply barbaric actions by politicians,” Szłapka said.

Szłapka also drew attention to the silence of President Karol Nawrocki on the matter. According to the government spokesman, Nawrocki had previously “repeatedly said that certain fights can be a noble form of struggle, which is simply unacceptable.”

At the same time, Szłapka noted the effective response of Polish law enforcement in cases of attacks on Ukrainians and emphasized that such crimes carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and “there will be no leniency here.”

Incidents of attacks on Ukrainians and manifestations of xenophobia could, by some assessments, affect relations between the two countries and lead to a mass exodus of Ukrainians from Poland, which would harm the country’s economy.

The trigger for the statements was an incident in Wrocław: on July 26, three men attacked a couple from Ukraine. The following day, July 27, two suspects were detained. The mayor of Wrocław called the incident a “warning signal” and urged residents not to remain indifferent to manifestations of xenophobia. On July 28, Poland’s Interior Ministry denied a sharp rise in the number of attacks on Ukrainians, but stated that every such incident must be met with a swift and decisive response from the state and law enforcement agencies.