Rising anti-Ukrainian sentiment drives migrants out of Poland

Volodymyr Gulyk had spent a decade in Poland without encountering anti-Ukrainian sentiment. Now, seated in his office at the migrant integration center in Legnica, the change in public opinion feels abrupt and unsettling. The center, funded by the European Union, opened in October 2025 to assist Ukrainians in integrating into southwestern Poland. Local nationalist groups opposed its establishment from the beginning, demanding its closure. Gulyk adjusted the center’s branding to the Lower Silesian Centre for Polish Culture, which reduced resistance—but tensions persisted. Over the past year, anti-Ukrainian violence in Poland rose by 30%, according to police records, while Polish sympathy for Ukrainians fell from 51% in 2023 to 29% in 2026, per a Centre for Public Opinion Research survey.

His office walls display a painting of two cats—one in Polish colors, the other in Ukrainian—created by his wife. Four years earlier, Poles had welcomed Ukrainians with open arms, with some even joining the Ukrainian military. Today, such solidarity is unimaginable.

Since April, over 31,000 Ukrainians, 3.2% of the Ukrainian population in Poland, have departed the country, according to Eurostat. Unlike earlier migration waves, many are relocating not to Ukraine but to other European nations. Taras Tokarskyi, Ukraine’s consul general in Wrocław, described this as an unprecedented trend.

In Legnica, where Ukrainians comprise 11% of the population, some families are preparing to leave. Olena, a Ukrainian mother who declined to share her last name, faced direct hostility last month when a Polish stranger cut in line ahead of her and her son, shouting, “Go home to Ukraine. You can make the rules there.” Despite such incidents, she has not yet left, her son thrives in school, and she holds a mortgage. Still, uncertainty looms.

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Historical Grievances Fueling Modern Hostility

The deterioration in relations stems from long-standing historical disputes. The most contentious issue is the Volhynia massacre, during which Ukrainian nationalists killed tens of thousands of Poles in World War II. In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named a regiment after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), provoking a sharp Polish response. Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest civilian honor, after Kyiv refused to rename the unit.

Janusz Mierzwa, a historian at Jagiellonian University, warned that the conflict risks worsening without dialogue. He cited Poland’s post-war reconciliation with Germany as a potential model. For now, historical grievances fuel resentment. A recent poll found that 45.4% of Poles blame history for the decline in attitudes toward Ukrainians.

The Polish government has also tightened social benefits for Ukrainians, restricting access to family support and business permits. Artem Zozulia, president of the Foundation for Ukraine, described this shift as part of a broader backlash. “Polish society kept Ukrainians as a lesser evil,” he said. “They said, ‘We don’t want Syrians, but we’ll take Ukrainians … We were tolerated.” Then came Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the huge outpouring of support for Ukrainians that followed.

In 2022, the Foundation for Ukraine grew five times bigger in one month, with 150 employees and over 5,000 volunteers, and opened new integration centers across the region to help refugees. The tune has now switched back. Local businesses that had long worked with the Foundation for Ukraine are refusing to work with the center, according to Zozulia. “Ukrainians have been swept into this broader anti-migration narrative,” he said.

Violence and Disinformation Escalate in Poland

In July, violence erupted in Legnica when a 26-year-old Polish woman assaulted six Ukrainian teenagers at a school playground, striking three in the face after telling them they should not speak Ukrainian. She now faces up to seven years in prison. Days later, graffiti reading “Fuck Ukrainians” appeared on a playground wall. Prosecutors confirmed the incident but admitted they were unaware of it at the time.

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Piotr Kaszuwara, a journalist with UA Future, a charity delivering aid to Ukraine, attributed the shift to disinformation. “The Russians have studied us,” Kaszuwara observed.

Social media platforms are flooded with anti-Ukrainian messages, often reposted by Polish far-right groups and pages supporting Nawrocki. Yan Auseyushkin, an analyst tracking Russian disinformation, noted that Kremlin-backed campaigns amplify existing tensions. In July, an 18-year-old Ukrainian was indicted for painting UPA slogans across Poland, allegedly paid by a Russian operative to “incite hatred” between Poles and Ukrainians, according to prosecutors.

Far-Right Politics Exploit Anti-Ukrainian Sentiment

With Poland’s 2027 elections approaching, far-right politicians are exploiting the issue. Janusz Kowalski, a former Law and Justice member, has called for all Ukrainians to leave the country, positioning it as a key campaign topic. Political scientists warn that the largest right-wing party will likely adopt similar rhetoric to rally support.

For Ukrainians in Legnica, the concern extends beyond violence to the broader political climate. Olena said she fears the election campaign most. “Anything that happens during the campaign season, Ukraine will be responsible for it,” she said.

Back in his office, Gulyk gazes at the painting of the two cats. “This is not the Poland we know,” he said, reflecting on the many Polish friends he’s made over the years.

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The integration center in Legnica remains one of the few places in the region where Ukrainians can still access consistent support. Funded by the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, it assists around 300 people monthly with legal aid, Polish language courses, and job placement services. Nearly all clients are Ukrainian, reflecting the region’s reliance on their presence, both economically and socially.

Before Russia’s 2022 invasion, Lower Silesia already hosted over 250,000 Ukrainians, a number that doubled after the war began. In Wrocław, Ukrainians now make up 14% of the population, the highest concentration in any major Polish city, with Legnica at 11%. These communities were built on decades of labor migration, particularly after Poland joined the EU in 2004, when Ukrainian workers filled gaps in construction, agriculture, and services.

In Wrocław, where Ukrainians have lived for generations, the strain is evident. Tokarskyi reported that some Ukrainians are leaving not for Ukraine, where conditions remain unstable, but for other EU countries like Spain, where they perceive fewer risks. “Some leave to Ukraine, but more to Europe,” he said.

For those who remain, uncertainty persists. Olena, the Ukrainian mother in Legnica, has not faced direct violence but knows others who have. Her hesitation to leave stems from practical concerns: her son’s schooling, her mortgage, and the lack of a clear alternative. Yet cumulative slights, being cut in line, derisive comments, the graffiti, have eroded her sense of safety.