Polish PM: attack on Ukrainian children in Bydgoszcz is an anti-Polish act

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has publicly addressed the man and woman who attacked Ukrainian children in the city of Bydgoszcz, calling on them to turn themselves in to the police.

Source: Polish news portal Onet, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Tusk said he was shocked by a report of aggressive behaviour by two people in Bydgoszcz towards Ukrainian children at a playground.

"Regardless of what some people think about Ukraine, we know about recent events, we know that not everything is fine – neither on the Ukrainian nor on the Polish side, we are aware of that, but attacking children is an anti-Polish act. As Poles, we have always been very proud of how we treat our own children and children who seek refuge with us," the prime minister said at a government meeting.

He noted that such actions are completely unacceptable and harm Poland.

Quote: "These two 'brave' citizens who attacked a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old child are being sought. I have a message for them. You will be arrested by the end of the week. It will be much better for you – you can ask a lawyer you know – if you go to the police today. Your situation will be much worse when, at the end of the week, after your arrest, you are held accountable for what you have done. That is free, sincere legal advice from me."

Details: Two Ukrainian children, a 14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother, were attacked by two adults at a playground in Bydgoszcz. The incident took place near the railway station on 14 August.

Ukraine's Consulate General in Gdańsk reported that the attackers confronted the children after hearing them speak Ukrainian. The brother and sister were subjected to physical violence: the adults twisted their arms and broke their toys. The attackers threatened and verbally abused the children.

The Bydgoszcz Voivodeship Police Headquarters said that officers have detained two people in the city. They are a 46-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man. The detainees may have been involved in the incident, and investigative actions involving them are currently underway.

Background:

• The number of attacks on Ukrainians in Poland has risen sharply in recent weeks. On 8 August, a 39-year-old man who had aggressively insulted two Ukrainian nationals in Kraków turned himself in at a police station, where he was detained.
• Tobiasz Bocheński, a member of the European Parliament and former Warsaw mayoral candidate, also stated that if the Law and Justice party came to power, it would ensure that Ukrainian men of military age who are not legally employed in Poland would be deported.
• Poland's Interior Ministry described the statements as populism.

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