Five detained over brutal attack on Ukrainians in Warsaw as mayor blames right-wing rhetoric

Police in Poland have detained five people, all Polish citizens in their teens, on suspicion of involvement in a violent attack on a group of Ukrainian teenagers in Warsaw last week.

In the wake of the incident, the city’s liberal mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, blamed the anti-Ukrainian rhetoric of right-wing politicians for “encouraging thugs” to carry out these kinds of attacks.

The attack took place on Thursday last week on Warsaw’s Świętokrzyski Bridge, with police saying that three Ukrainian teenagers were assaulted, one of whom required hospital treatment.

Gazeta Wyborcza, a leading daily, spoke with the hospitalised victim, whom they named only as Artem. He said that he and a group of friends, who had been speaking in Ukrainian and Russian, were attacked by a group of around ten Poles.

Artem was sprayed with pepper spray and beaten, resulting in a fractured skull. He says that the assailants tried to throw one of his friends off the bridge and shouted, “Fuck off back to Ukraine”. The incident was only brought to an end because a police car appeared, resulting in the attackers fleeing.

In an initial statement on Monday, local police said that “the current findings and evidence collected so far do not indicate that this incident was motivated by nationality”.

However, on Wednesday, Trzaskowski told a press conference that “everything indicates that this was a crime motivated by nationality and even racism”. The mayor said he was “incredibly saddened” that this had happened. “We often say that Warsaw is a tolerant and safe city.”

Trzaskowski issued a message to those who he believes are responsible for stirring hate towards Ukrainians.

“Your words – and I’m addressing right-wing politicians in particular – sometimes have precisely this kind of consequences,” said the mayor. “Verbal attacks on our guests from Ukraine can, unfortunately, be perceived by thugs as an encouragement to carry out this type of behaviour, and can end this way.”

The mayor also warned that such rhetoric and incidents serve the interests of Russia, which has long tried to stir animosity between Poles and Ukrainians.

“I think no one enjoys these kinds of incidents more than Moscow and Russian propaganda, which constantly tries to divide us from Ukrainians and incite Polish society against our Ukrainian guests,” said Trzaskowski.

Ukrainians are by far Poland’s largest foreign national group. The country is home to almost one million refugees who fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as hundreds of thousands of other Ukrainian immigrants.

However, far-right groups have led a growing campaign against the large-scale presence of Ukrainians, which they say threatens Poland’s identity and also makes it harder for Poles to access housing, healthcare, education and other services.

In a social media post on Thursday, interior minister Marcin Kierwiński announced that “the police have detained five individuals, Polish citizens aged 15-18”, on suspicion of carrying out the attack on Świętokrzyski Bridge.

“Zero tolerance for aggression,” wrote Kierwiński, who also shared a video of the suspects being arrested.

In a further statement quoted by broadcaster RMF, the police said that “procedural activities are underway to thoroughly clarify all the circumstances of the incident and determine the role played by each of the young men”.

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.