Polish police detain suspects after brutal attack on Ukrainian couple

Police in Poland have arrested two men suspected of a brutal physcial attack on a Ukrainian couple in Wroclaw, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski announced on July 27.

A day earlier, a 20-year-old Ukrainian woman and her partner, a 21-year-old Ukrainian man, were attacked and beaten by three assailants on the streets of Wroclaw. Police said the crime appeared to be motivated by nationality-based aggression.

"Brutal violence will never go unpunished," Kierwinski wrote on X, reporting that Wroclaw police had detained two men suspected of participating in the attack.

Both suspects had prior criminal records, Kierwinski said. One of the men was detained by counterorrism officers while attempting to leave the city.

Law enforcement are still searching for the third assailant.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha thanked Polish authorities for their "swift, decisive, and immediate response" in a social media post following the arrest.

Sybiha called for a thorough investigation and "fair punishment of all perpetrators." He also urged officials in Poland to stop feeding the flames of anti-Ukrainian animosity in their political rhetoric.

"Once again, I appeal to certain Polish politicians to stop fueling hostility, which ultimately turns into concrete acts of violence on the streets," he said. "We need dialogue and mutual respect, not the search for reasons to hate."

The Wroclaw attack comes amid a surge in violence against Ukrainians in Poland in recent months, fueled by a crisis in diplomatic relations between the neighboring countries.

The Polish police received 180 reports of hate crimes against Ukrainians in the first half of 2026, an increase of over 30% compared to the same period last year, according to the Rzeczpospolita newspaper. The statistic dovetails with polls showing that a majority of Poles hold increasingly negative views toward Ukraine and no longer support welcoming Ukrainian refugees.

The recent crisis emerged after Ukraine named one of its military units after the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). While UPA is seen in Ukraine as an anti-Soviet movement, the controversial group is known in Poland for participating in the Volyn massacres — the mass killing of Poles in what is today western Ukraine.