“Polish police reported a significant increase in the number of hate crimes against Ukrainians. Since the beginning of 2025, their number has increased by almost half compared to last year. As TVP World informs, between January and July 2025, 543 hate crimes were recorded — 41% more than during the same period in 2024, when”, — write on: ua.news
Polish police reported a significant increase in the number of hate crimes against Ukrainians. Since the beginning of 2025, their number has increased by almost half compared to last year.
According to TVP World, between January and July 2025, 543 hate crimes were recorded – 41% more than in the same period of 2024, when 384 incidents were registered. Threats of violence remain the most common type of crime: 322 cases were recorded in the first eight months of this year alone, which could become a record.
Physical and psychological assaults are also on the rise, up nearly 73% in two years. Assaults causing harm to health increased by 43%, and xenophobic or racist incidents almost doubled, from 113 in 2022 to 188 in 2024. The number of robberies, harassment, blackmail and theft of personal data, where Ukrainians became victims, also increased.
Police spokeswoman Violetta Shubska emphasized that hate crimes are a violation of basic human rights. She emphasized the importance of documenting when investigating manifestations of hostility towards a certain population group.
Although Polish law does not contain a separate definition of “hate crime”, law enforcement officers use a classification developed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
Warsaw University professor Przemysław Sadura explained that the growth of anti-crisis rhetoric against Ukrainians is due to a combination of economic uncertainty, misinformation and political exploitation. He noted that the wave of solidarity following the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 is gradually fading, giving way to growing hostility.
“People are afraid that Ukrainians will take their place – in hospitals, kindergartens or on the labor market. These fears are fueled by instability and the perception that Ukrainian workers are cutting wages,” Sadura told Onet.
The sociologist also drew attention to the role of social networks, which often spread fake stories fueled by Russian disinformation.
“We see a transition from isolated acts of aggression to organized hostility. This is how pogroms begin – with the dehumanization of victims and the reversal of roles,” he warned.
Sadura called on the authorities to immediately strengthen the fight against xenophobia and protect democratic values, so that Poland “does not repeat the mistakes that once led to tragedies.”
In Poland, in the district court of the city of Sokulka in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, the case of a border guard who, according to the investigation, deliberately ran over a stray dog in an official car, ended.
In Krasnyk, 100 km from the border with Ukraine, the construction of a plant for the production of 155 mm artillery ammunition has begun.
