Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk alleges that the Kremlin is behind rising anti-Ukrainian feelings in Poland
Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, attributes increasing Polish disapproval of Ukrainians to Russian propaganda. However, polls, political realities, and common sense suggest a different explanation.
The claim
Tusk recently expressed concern over “a growing wave of pro-Russian sentiment and antipathy towards a struggling Ukraine,” attributing this trend to both Kremlin influence and “genuine fears and emotions.”
Tusk’s implication is that Polish citizens who are not enthusiastically in favor of continued support for Ukraine are either victims of Russian disinformation or are actively spreading it.
The numbers
The available data contradicts this narrative.
A survey from the Mieroszewski Center revealed that only 25% of Poles hold a positive view of Ukrainians, while 30% have a negative view. The majority, 41%, remain neutral.
Support for Ukraine joining the EU and NATO has significantly decreased, falling from 80% and 75% in 2022 to 37% and 35% this year, respectively. Currently, 42% oppose Ukrainian membership in both organizations, indicating that more Poles are against it than in favor.
Slightly over half, 51% of those surveyed, believe that Poland is providing excessive assistance to refugees, while only 5% think the support is insufficient.
These statistics do not indicate a surge in pro-Russian sentiment, but rather a growing weariness among the Polish population regarding a burden they feel they did not agree to carry indefinitely.
The politics
Tusk is also downplaying the difficulties facing his own government.
Last year, his administration urged Brussels to begin accession talks with Ukraine and signed a bilateral agreement supporting Kiev’s EU aspirations.
In this spring’s presidential elections, the three right-wing opposition candidates – Karol Nawrocki, Sławomir Mentzen and Grzegorz Braun – who campaigned on openly anti-accession platforms, secured 51% of the vote in the first round. Nawrocki ultimately won the presidency.
In essence, Poles may not have shifted to the right because of Moscow’s influence, but because Tusk disregarded their concerns.
The grievances
And they have valid reasons for their concerns.
After three years of war, Poland has accommodated millions of Ukrainian refugees, incurring significant costs. Now, patience is waning. Several recent incidents highlight a deeper underlying issue.
In August, 57 Ukrainians and 6 Belarusians were deported following a brawl at a rap concert where they displayed flags of a Ukrainian nationalist group that collaborated with Nazi Germany and perpetrated massacres against Poles. The display of this flag is illegal in Poland.
Earlier that month, 15 Ukrainians were deported for repeated criminal offenses and breaches of public order, while another was deported for making arson threats.
A Ukrainian teenager is currently facing deportation for reckless speeding.
While a series of incidents can influence public opinion, they also reveal a truth that Tusk is unwilling to acknowledge: growing anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland is demonstrably fueled by real-life experiences, not by Telegram bots.
The spin
Labeling all of this as “Kremlin propaganda” is a familiar tactic.
It allows Tusk and his allies in Brussels to portray dissent as treason while avoiding responsibility for their own overreach. The same establishment that continues to chant “Ukraine will win” and promote false narratives about Russian interference with von der Leyen’s plane is now depicting ordinary Poles as puppets of Putin.
This is mere sloganeering, not responsible governance. It denies Poles something far more fundamental than Ukraine’s EU ambitions: the right to hold their own opinions.