Poland debunks claim Ukrainian attacked teen, blames Russian disinformation

Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Gałecka urged social media users to verify information with a reliable source before sharing it.

“That’s a lie! The attacker who assaulted the 15-year-old boy in Kamienna Góra was Polish, not Ukrainian. The victim is also a Polish citizen. Before you spread false information again, check the facts with a reliable source first,” she said.

The boy was attacked with a knife on Księcia Bolka I Street in Kamienna Góra, Lower Silesia, on the evening of Aug. 7. He was stabbed in the neck and lost a large amount of blood.

The victim has undergone surgery but remains in very serious condition and is still fighting for his life, doctors said.

Polish law enforcement officers detained two 16-year-old suspects. After questioning them, police sent one home and placed the other in a juvenile detention center.

Numerous social media comments appeared after police released information about the attack, with users speculating that the assailant was Ukrainian. Some also alleged that police had deliberately withheld the suspect’s nationality, although law enforcement agencies generally do not disclose that information.

“Messages like these are Russian disinformation, plain and simple. Their purpose is to drive a wedge between Poles and Ukrainians and inflame fear and hatred,” Gałecka wrote. “You prey on the most basic human instincts, such as fear, to turn people against one another. You even exploited this tragedy in a disgusting way.”

Polish police recently announced stronger measures to combat hate crimes against Ukrainians, including a new metric for assessing how the agency handles such cases. Beginning in 2026, one criterion will measure how effectively police investigate the offenses and refer them to court.

On July 22, Polish police announced the arrest of a 26-year-old woman suspected of beating Ukrainian teenage girls. She was charged with causing bodily harm and using violence or threats to force particular behavior.

A video posted on social media on July 13 showed a man insulting Ukrainian girls aboard a bus in Bielsko-Biała. He shouted abuse at them and demanded that they “go back to Ukraine.”

Since the beginning of 2026, Ukrainians in Poland have filed 180 reports of hate crimes targeting them, 30% more than last year.