Following the assault on a Ukrainian couple in Wrocław, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on Polish President Karol Nawrocki to respond to such incidents.
“I am addressing the President directly, asking him to break his silence on this matter,” Tusk said on 28 July.
He called for a “war on violence, hatred and impunity” to be declared.
“We must wage a resolute fight against this violence, because thugs, hooligans and this culture of violence have grown bolder and more brazen, having also received political protection. It is no coincidence that the man who beat up a Ukrainian woman boasted that he was a border guard,” the Prime Minister added.
Tusk emphasised that “politicians – from the president down to right-wing leaders – also bear responsibility for this rise in violence and the decline in Poland’s standing”.
He also called on Polish citizens to take action and report such acts of violence immediately, and expressed the hope that law enforcement agencies would do everything possible to ensure that those responsible for such incidents are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.
Rafal Leszkiewicz, a spokesperson for the Polish President, responding to Tusk’s statements, said that Tusk was “attempting to manipulate public opinion by shifting the blame onto the President or the opposition”. According to Leszkiewicz, as quoted by the Polish media, “the acts of aggression that are occurring are a manifestation of the government’s helplessness and the ineffectiveness of the Minister (of the Interior – ed.)”.
He also emphasised that “any violence must be condemned in the strongest possible terms, and those responsible for brutal beatings or verbal aggression should be punished strictly and fairly”.
Earlier, Polsatnews reported, citing the mother of one of the victims, that a couple of Ukrainian nationals had been attacked in Wrocław on 26 July. According to the woman, her daughter required stitches, whilst she and her partner are suspected of having suffered concussions.
Wrocław police inspector Aleksandra Freus confirmed to journalists that the attack bore the hallmarks of a racially motivated incident. The police have received a statement from the victims.
On 27 July, the Consulate General of Ukraine in Wrocław called on the Polish police to respond promptly to what appeared to be yet another attack on Ukrainian citizens.
On the same day, Poland’s Minister of the Interior, Marcin Kerwinski, announced the arrest of two men suspected of assaulting Ukrainians in Wrocław. Another attacker is being sought.
According to him, the detainees had previous convictions – one of them was detained by officers from the police’s counter-terrorism unit whilst attempting to leave Wrocław.
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sibiga thanked the Polish authorities, law enforcement agencies and the Mayor of Wrocław, Jacek Sutryk, for their “swift, principled and timely response”.
“We expect a full, objective and impartial investigation, the establishment of all the circumstances and motives behind the crime, as well as fair punishment for those responsible,” he wrote on social media.
Sibiga once again called on certain Polish politicians to stop inciting hostility, which “ultimately turns into actual physical attacks on the streets”.