Polish Authorities Investigate Assault on Ukrainian Teenager for Speaking Native Language

A district prosecutor’s office in Płock, Poland, has launched an investigation into the physical and verbal assault of a 15-year-old Ukrainian boy by an adult male passenger on a city bus. According to the victim’s statements to Polish broadcaster TVP Warszawa, the incident occurred on bus route No. 3 when an unidentified man approached the teenager and his companion, demanding that they speak Polish. The assailant then struck the 15-year-old and forcibly pushed both individuals out of the vehicle when the doors opened at a stop.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Prosecutor Marcin Policevich confirmed that law enforcement agencies are conducting necessary investigative actions and working to identify the suspect. Investigators have already interviewed a witness to the incident and the minor’s legal guardian. Charges will be considered once the suspect is identified. The teenager’s mother, Natalia Melnyk, stated that the incident has raised significant safety concerns for her family, noting that she now feels anxious about speaking Ukrainian in public within the city. Rising trend of anti-Ukrainian incidents The assault in Płock follows a recorded increase in hostility directed at Ukrainian nationals residing in Poland. According to data analyzed by the Polish news outlet Rzeczpospolita, Ukrainian citizens filed 267 reports of such incidents in 2024 and 275 in 2025. If the current rate continues, projections indicate the number of reports could reach approximately 360 by the end of 2026. Other Topics of Interest Poland Reports Massive Drop in Irregular Border Crossings from Belarus The Polish Interior Ministry reported only 235 attempted irregular border crossings from Belarus in the first half of 2026, a sharp decrease from over 15,500 during the same period last year. Law enforcement officials note that these figures represent reports filed by alleged victims rather than crimes confirmed post-investigation. The issue recently gained national attention following a separate incident in the southern city of Bielsko-Biała, where a 54-year-old man insulted two 11-year-old Ukrainian girls traveling on a bus. The individual was subsequently detained, charged with public insult based on nationality, and dismissed from his employment as a bus driver. Political tensions and disinformation The Union of Ukrainians in Poland reported that hostility often correlates with political disputes and sensitive historical anniversaries. Bilateral relations between Poland and Ukraine have experienced a downturn following Kyiv’s decision to name an elite military unit after a World War II-era Ukrainian resistance movement, which Poland associates with the deaths of approximately 100,000 Polish civilians in Volhynia and eastern Galicia. The diplomatic dispute resulted in Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland’s highest state honor. Concurrently, researchers have identified a surge in anti-Ukrainian content online, warning that these political tensions are being amplified by Russian information operations aimed at destabilizing relations between the two countries. Research cited by Rzeczpospolita tracked 94,000 anti-Ukrainian posts between April and July 2025 during Poland’s presidential election campaign, generating over 32 million views. Sociologists suggest that the actual number of harassment incidents may be higher than official statistics indicate, as some victims remain hesitant to contact law enforcement. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.