Tusk blames right-wing politicians after brutal assault on Ukrainian couple in Wroclaw

Attack on Okulickiego Street

On Sunday 26 July, a 20-year-old Ukrainian woman and her 21-year-old partner were set upon by three men on Okulickiego Street in Wroclaw. The assault began after a confrontation in a nearby shop where, according to the woman's brother, the three men pushed in at the checkout, and they took issue with her eastern accent. Footage posted to social media showed the attackers kicking and punching the man and striking the woman as she tried to shield him. Both victims were taken to hospital; the woman sustained an ear injury visible in online clips.

Investigation and arrests

By Monday evening police had detained two suspects. Marcin Kierwiński, the interior minister, announced the arrests on X, writing that “brutal violence will never go unpunished.” One of the men, 45-year-old Adam C. (nicknamed “Cycu”), a convicted criminal and bare-knuckle boxer who had served a 10-year sentence, was stopped by counter-terrorist officers on the A4 motorway while trying to flee the city. The second, 27-year-old Tomasz M., an MMA-linked hooligan, was also taken into custody. A third attacker remains wanted. On Tuesday morning, the younger suspect was charged with battery, nationality-motivated violence and insult, classified as a hooligan offence; he faces up to five years in prison. Prosecutors said they would seek pre-trial detention, citing the risk of evidence-tampering and the attempt of one suspect to escape.

Tusk’s political broadside

Speaking before a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk blamed a climate of political tolerance for the violence, declaring that “bandits, hooligans, this violent pathology has gained courage and nerve because it has also gained political patronage.” He noted that one of the detainees had boasted on social media about being a “border defender.”

We must wage a determined war on this violence, because bandits, hooligans, this violent pathology has gained courage and nerve because it has also gained political patronage.

Tusk contrasted Poland’s unprecedented solidarity with Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion with the current wave of hostility. He urged citizens not to remain indifferent and to immediately report such attacks to the police. The prime minister then addressed President Karol Nawrocki directly, telling him to end his silence because he had previously praised street fights as “noble, masculine contests.” Tusk invoked the GROMDA bare-knuckle fighting organisation and the far-right groups Kamraty and Ruch Obrony Granic linked to Robert Bąkiewicz. He also called on PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński to stop calling for the formation of militias, a reference to Kaczyński’s recent criticism of the police’s handling of memorial gatherings.

I appeal to the president to stop being silent on this matter. He praised street fights as masculine contests, even noble ones. Please look at what this noble hand-to-hand combat looks like when performed by people from GROMDA.

Reactions from Warsaw and Kyiv

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski commented on Kierwiński’s arrest announcement with a blunt message posted on X.

Let them do time and maybe it will sink in that the majority of Polish women and men do not consent to hooligan chauvinism.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrij Sybiha thanked the Polish authorities for their swift response and demanded a full, objective and impartial investigation and fair punishment for the perpetrators. He also warned that inflammatory rhetoric was feeding street violence.

I again call on some Polish politicians to stop inciting hostility that eventually turns into concrete acts of violence on the streets. We need dialogue and mutual respect.

Rising anti-Ukrainian sentiment

The Wroclaw assault follows a pattern of hate-crime incidents recorded in Polish cities. Earlier this month, three men hurled insults at a Ukrainian boy on a Poznań tram and attacked a 60-year-old man who defended him. Think-tank Res Futura reported that in May anti-Ukrainian posts on social media surged dramatically while pro-immigrant commentary almost disappeared. Several Polish far-right parties and some figures within Law and Justice (PiS) have adopted increasingly critical stances toward military aid to Ukraine and benefits for Ukrainian refugees, a shift that domestic observers link to the recent spike in attacks.