The German diary "Berlin Zeitung" wrote on 30 August that 4 years after the Russian invasion the relations between Poles and Ukrainians are deteriorating. Polish investigation confirms a change of mood: 52% of respondents object to receiving refugees. For Poland, security, fair rules of assistance and the prevention of force against people are at stake.
From solidarity to distrust
The study "Berlin Zeitung" describes a change of atmosphere in Poland after 4 years of war in Ukraine. The German paper highlights the increasing reluctance towards refugees, the reporting of hatred crimes and the political importance of the subject before the 2027 parliamentary elections. The starting point of the text is circumstantial events involving Ukrainian citizens who were to be victims of violence.
Crime remains a crime regardless of the nationality of the victim. The Polish state has a work to prosecute the perpetrators and to defend any individual legally residing on its territory. Parliamentary Intervention of 12 August describes 3 acts of force against Ukrainian citizens in Wrocław and indicates that proceedings inactive required clarification. Liability is individual. Nationality can neither be an excuse for action nor a basis for collective accusation.
Research shows a real change
But temper changes do not request to be invented or reduced to a public label. CBOS reported in July 2026that for the first time in the past of his measurements opponents of receiving refugees from Ukraine prevailed over supporters: 52% against 42%. At the same time, 54 percent of respondents considered the scale of Polish aid to be besides large.
Another CBOS survey from August indicated that 46 percent of Poles negatively measure the current Polish-Ukrainian relations. However, the image is not black and white. More than half of the respondents, precisely 55 percent, have Ukrainian people among friends, coworkers, neighbours, friends or family. This is an crucial adjustment to comfortable stories about 2 totally hostile communities.
Opinion studies from 2021-2025 They have already shown that the attitude of Poles to Ukraine and Ukrainians depends on security, aid costs and unresolved historical matters. Today's mistrust did not fall from the sky. It is simply a bill for a policy that has long required solidarity from citizens and has besides seldom clearly defined its terms.
Aid must have limits and rules
Poles accepted people fleeing Russian aggression and made a immense social effort. They have the right to ask for benefits costs, access to public services, law enforcement and the contribution of those remaining in Poland to maintaining the common system. Supporting 87% of those surveyed for the simplification of free medical care to non-deductors shows that the anticipation of reciprocity is common. Data on Ukrainian work in Poland they are besides needed to base the balance sheet on facts and not on utmost slogans.
The State should so conduct a conditional aid policy. The precedence of the interests of Polish citizens, the control of benefits and effective punishment of crimes do not conflict with human dignity. On the contrary, clear rules limit frustration and take fuel from those who want to turn the criticism of incorrect politics into hostility to all nationalities.
Polish debate does not request a German supervisor
The German paper has the right to describe Polish sentiments. However, it should not replace Poles with its own assessment or reduce any criticism of migration policy to prejudice. Warsaw itself must find the rules of residence, assistance and integration, based on the safety of citizens and the ability of the State to finance public services.
The stakes before 2027 are serious. If the elites ignore costs and hard questions, tension will increase. If politicians start building support for hurting people, they'll cross the border. Poland needs a hard, sovereign policy and equally hard enforcement against all perpetrator.
Source: Interia Events, Berliner Zeitung, CBOS, Seym RP.
Source: Interia Events
