WARSAW, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A knife attack by a Ukrainian national at a monastery in southeastern Poland has brought renewed attention to the ever more complicated relationship between the two neighbors.
A 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen reportedly killed a priest and injured four other people at a Benedictine monastery in Jaroslaw on Thursday. A court on Saturday ordered him held in pretrial detention for three months, and the motive for the attack remained unclear.
The incident has quickly stirred political reactions in Poland. Members and supporters of National Movement, a Polish right-wing nationalist party, gathered outside the monastery, while some politicians called for tighter controls on migrants, including Ukrainians.
Poland remains a major supporter of Ukraine and a key logistical hub for assistance, but the strong solidarity with Ukraine forged in the early days of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is giving way to the harder politics of a long-term relationship, as migration, competing economic interests and historical grievances return to the fore.
FROM SOLIDARITY TO FATIGUE
When the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Poland became a major destination for Ukrainians fleeing the fighting. The country introduced special measures giving eligible Ukrainians access to employment, public healthcare and social benefits.
Public support was overwhelming. According to Poland's Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS), 94 percent of respondents supported accepting Ukrainian refugees from conflict-affected areas in early 2022.
Four years on, however, what began as temporary refuge has evolved into a longer-term challenge of migration and integration, adding to friction between Poles and Ukrainians. According to Eurostat, more than 953,000 people displaced from Ukraine remained under temporary protection in Poland at the end of July, the second-largest number in the European Union (EU) after Germany.
Public attitudes have shifted markedly. A CBOS survey released in July showed that 52 percent of respondents opposed accepting Ukrainian refugees, the first time since the agency began tracking the issue that opponents outnumbered supporters.
The change in public attitudes has been accompanied by signs of growing hostility toward Ukrainians. Polish police received 180 reports of suspected hate crimes targeting Ukrainian citizens in the first half of 2026, up more than 30 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to police data.
POLITICAL FRICTIONS GROW
Political tensions have also grown as Ukraine-related issues become increasingly intertwined with domestic politics in Poland and historical disputes resurface between the two countries.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki last year vetoed legislation extending assistance measures for Ukrainian citizens, arguing that the country's 800-zloty (210 U.S. dollars) monthly child benefit should be available only to Ukrainians who work in Poland.
The employment requirement took effect in February, as Poland began scaling back some of the special arrangements for Ukrainians. Special access to public healthcare was largely phased out in March, and state-funded collective accommodation was restricted mainly to specified vulnerable groups.
Historical disputes have further fueled friction between the two countries, particularly over the Volhynia massacres during World War II and the legacy of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
In late May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky approved the naming of a Ukrainian military unit after the UPA. Nawrocki responded by revoking the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state decoration, which was awarded to Zelensky in 2023, calling the Ukrainian move "outrageous, incomprehensible and deeply disappointing." Zelensky returned the decoration the following day.
Polish geopolitical analyst Malwina Talik noted that although the two presidents' decisions had triggered a deep diplomatic crisis, both moves enjoyed broad support in their respective countries. She said the dispute was rooted in divergent historical memories of the UPA in Poland and Ukraine, making it particularly difficult to resolve.
DIVERGING INTERESTS
A study published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said security remains the area where Polish and Ukrainian strategic interests are most closely aligned, but appears to be the "lowest common denominator" in their relationship rather than the foundation for a comprehensive partnership.
Differences have emerged even over security. Edwin Bendyk, president of Poland's Stefan Batory Foundation, has highlighted a growing asymmetry between the two countries: while the conflict remains an existential issue for Ukrainians, Poles are primarily concerned with avoiding direct confrontation.
The Carnegie study, citing interviews with Polish officials, said some viewed Ukraine as a buffer state rather than a full-fledged ally integrated with Europe. It also pointed to Warsaw's cautious approach to the Coalition of the Willing, with Poland ruling out sending troops to Ukraine.
Economic relations reveal another limit to the partnership. Disputes over Ukrainian agricultural exports led Poland to restrict some imports and sparked border protests, while tensions persist over increasing Ukrainian grain transit through Poland. The Carnegie study said the issue had grown from an economic concern into an electoral issue before "spiraling into a serious bilateral crisis."
The stakes extend beyond bilateral relations, with tensions between Poland and Ukraine carrying potential implications for Ukraine's accession to the EU, according to Talik. ■
