Attacks on Ukrainians in Poland: How a Street Assault in Gdynia Signals a Rising Hate Crime Challenge

The injuries suffered by the woman in Gdynia were relatively minor. The wider significance of the attack lies elsewhere.

According to the information available, she did nothing except speak Ukrainian while walking down the street. That alone appears to have been enough to attract the attacker's attention.

It is a detail that links Gdynia with other recent incidents. In Wrocław, a young Ukrainian couple was reportedly assaulted after the attackers heard them speaking. Earlier in July, two Ukrainian schoolgirls were verbally abused on public transport in Bielsko-Biała.

Viewed separately, each case could be dismissed as the actions of a few individuals. Together, they paint a different picture. Ukrainians are increasingly becoming targets in ordinary public places simply because they can be identified by their language.

That is a worrying change for a country that only a few years ago became the main refuge for millions of people fleeing Russia's invasion.

When Solidarity Meets Fatigue

In 2022, Poland's response to the refugee crisis drew admiration across Europe. Families opened their homes, volunteers gathered at railway stations and local governments worked around the clock to help people arriving from Ukraine. The support was immediate and, for many months, remarkably broad.

Four years later, the atmosphere is noticeably different.

The war has become part of everyday life rather than an emergency. As time has passed, public discussion has shifted away from humanitarian aid toward more difficult questions. Housing costs, competition in the labour market, pressure on public services and disputes over social benefits have all become subjects of political debate. Trade disagreements and long-standing historical disputes have also returned to the political agenda.

None of these issues automatically leads to violence. Most disagreements never do.

But they create an environment where resentment can grow more easily, especially when politicians and public figures use increasingly confrontational language. Once hostile rhetoric becomes common in public debate, the distance between words and actions often begins to shrink.

The State Is No Longer Treating These Cases as Isolated Crimes

The growing number of attacks has forced Polish authorities to change the way they respond.

Earlier this year, prosecutors created 50 specialised units to deal with hate speech and crimes motivated by prejudice. In May, the police also introduced a separate system for recording offences committed against Ukrainians. Instead of being absorbed into general crime statistics, these cases are now monitored individually from the start of the investigation through to court proceedings.

That may sound like a technical change, but it signals something much bigger.

Governments rarely create new investigative mechanisms unless they believe a problem is becoming long-term. These reforms suggest that Polish institutions no longer see anti-Ukrainian violence as a handful of unrelated incidents. They are preparing for the possibility that such crimes could become a persistent challenge.

The numbers help explain why.

According to Poland's Ministry of Interior and Administration, recorded hate crimes increased by more than 30% in a single year—from just over 760 cases in 2024 to nearly 1,200 in 2025.

Statistics never tell the whole story. Some of the increase may be linked to better reporting or more effective recording by police. Even so, the trend is serious enough for the government to dedicate additional resources to the issue.

From Online Anger to Violence in the Street

The attack in Gdynia did not begin on those stairs.

Like many hate crimes, it was the final step in a much longer process.

For months, Polish social media has seen a growing number of anti-Ukrainian posts. Discussions about refugees, jobs, housing and welfare have become increasingly emotional. Historical disputes, which had largely faded from public attention after Russia's invasion, have also returned to political debate.

Most people expressing frustration online never commit acts of violence.

But constant exposure to hostile messages changes the atmosphere. It can make prejudice appear more acceptable than it once was. Ideas that would have shocked many people a few years ago slowly become part of everyday conversation.

That is exactly why governments worry about hate speech even when it does not directly break the law. Violence often begins long before the first punch is thrown.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk openly linked the latest attacks to political rhetoric that, in his view, has normalised hostility towards Ukrainians. Following the assault in Gdynia, he called for a stronger response from the state and urged President Karol Nawrocki to speak publicly about the growing violence.

Whether politicians agree on the causes is becoming almost secondary. They now agree on one point: these incidents have become impossible to ignore.

Poland's Strategic Balancing Act

For Warsaw, the challenge goes far beyond policing individual attacks.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Poland has been one of Ukraine's strongest allies. It has accepted millions of refugees, backed military assistance and argued consistently that Ukraine's security is inseparable from Poland's own.

That position has not fundamentally changed.

What has changed is the domestic mood.

After more than four years of war, many of the conversations inside Poland are no longer about emergency solidarity. They are about everyday life: the cost of housing, pressure on schools and healthcare, competition in parts of the labour market and the distribution of public resources. Those concerns are real, and politicians across the political spectrum increasingly address them.

The problem begins when legitimate social and economic debates become mixed with hostility toward an entire national community.

That is the line the Polish government is now trying to defend. Officials must reassure Polish voters that their concerns are being heard while making it equally clear that violence against Ukrainians will not be tolerated. It is a delicate balance, especially in a politically polarised environment where migration has become an emotionally charged issue.

Different Levels of Government, Different Responses

Local leaders have generally reacted to these attacks in practical terms.

After the assault in Wrocław, Mayor Jacek Sutryk condemned the violence without hesitation, insisting there could be no tolerance for crimes driven by hatred or xenophobia. Ukrainian diplomats also called for a swift investigation and for those responsible to be brought before the courts.

At the national level, however, the discussion has become far more political.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has argued that increasingly aggressive public rhetoric is helping create an atmosphere in which attacks on Ukrainians become more likely. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński has echoed that message, stressing that crimes motivated by nationality or ethnicity are under special police monitoring.

The debate is no longer only about catching individual offenders. It has become a wider argument over political responsibility, public language and the limits of acceptable rhetoric during a period of growing social tension.

More Is at Stake Than Public Order

The immediate victims are, of course, Ukrainians living in Poland.

For millions of refugees and migrant workers, incidents like the one in Gdynia create uncertainty that extends far beyond the people directly involved. When someone can be attacked simply for speaking their native language, everyday routines begin to change. People become more cautious in public, avoid certain places or choose not to speak Ukrainian openly. Even if such attacks remain relatively rare, they leave a much larger psychological impact.

The pressure is also growing on Polish institutions. Police, prosecutors and local authorities now have to devote more time and resources to preventing hate crimes while maintaining public confidence that the country remains safe.

There is another dimension that reaches beyond Poland itself.

Relations between Poland and Ukraine have become one of the cornerstones of Europe's security since 2022. If mistrust continues to grow at the social level, it could gradually weaken cooperation that has been vital not only for the two neighbours but also for NATO's eastern flank.

That is why these attacks attract so much attention.

For countries seeking to divide European societies, every incident that fuels hostility between Poles and Ukrainians is politically useful. Disinformation campaigns do not need to invent tensions if genuine divisions are already emerging. Their task becomes much easier when existing frustrations can simply be amplified.

The assault in Gdynia will ultimately be judged in court as the case against one suspect. But its wider significance lies elsewhere. It has exposed a reality that Polish institutions already appear to recognise: the greatest challenge is no longer responding to individual attacks, but preventing a climate in which such attacks begin to feel normal.