Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland has increased since early 2025, with many Ukrainians reporting growing hostility in public spaces, workplaces and schools, according to a report published on Tuesday by Polish NGO Instytut Krytyki Politycznej.
The report, We Are Not at Home: Ukrainian Migrants and Refugees on Relations with Poles, was based on interviews with 25 Ukrainian migrants and refugees and found that nearly all respondents had noticed a rise in anti-Ukrainian attitudes.
The study’s authors, migration researcher Olena Babakova and sociologist Przemyslaw Sadura, said anti-Ukrainian hostility was no longer confined to online discourse and was increasingly affecting daily life.
Respondents described incidents of discrimination in housing, employment, schools and healthcare, with the most common cases occurring on public transport.
Many said speaking Ukrainian or having a Ukrainian accent often triggered verbal abuse or intimidation.
The report also cited more subtle forms of discrimination, including landlords refusing to rent to Ukrainians and hostile comments from medical staff.
Several interviewees pointed to Poland’s 2025 presidential election campaign as the moment anti-Ukrainian rhetoric became more visible in public debate.
Conservative candidate Karol Nawrocki (who went on to win the election and become Poland’s president) and far-right contender Sławomir Mentzen adopted tougher positions on Ukraine, including opposition to Kyiv’s NATO membership and criticism of support policies for refugees.
Respondents said the campaign helped push anti-Ukrainian narratives further into the mainstream.
Others said tensions between Poles and Ukrainians had existed long before but had intensified in recent months.
The findings come as Poland remains one of the main host countries for Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
While public support for Ukraine remains broadly strong, recent opinion polls have shown declining sympathy for refugees amid debates over welfare support, job competition and historical grievances.
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The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 12 October 2026 with the top five natural disasters happening around the world.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine is ready to respect the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, but only if Russia does the same, saying Moscow has already violated the agreement.
China has announced sanctions against Belize’s foreign minister and Paraguay’s communications minister over their countries’ diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The move comes as Beijing continues to pressure the few remaining nations that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.
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