Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk publicly addressed the man and woman who attacked Ukrainian children in the city of Bydgoszcz, urging them to turn themselves in to the police.
He made the statement during a government meeting, according to European Pravda, citing Onet.
Tusk said he was shocked by yet another report of aggressive behavior by two people in Bydgoszcz toward Ukrainian children at a playground.
“Regardless of what some people think about Ukraine, we are aware of recent events, and we know that not everything is right — neither on the Ukrainian nor 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.
According to him, such actions are absolutely unacceptable and harm Poland.
“These two ‘brave’ citizens who attacked a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old are being sought. I have a message for them: you will be detained by the end of the week. It will be much better for you — you can ask a lawyer you know — if you turn yourselves in to the police today. Your situation will be much worse when, at the end of the week, after being detained, you have to answer for what you did. That is my free and sincere legal advice,” the Polish prime minister emphasized.
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 on Friday, August 14, near the railway station.
The Consulate General of Ukraine in Gdansk reported that the aggressors were provoked by the children speaking Ukrainian. The brother and sister were subjected to physical violence: the adults twisted their arms and broke their toys. The attackers also threatened and verbally abused the children.
The Bydgoszcz Voivodeship Police reported that officers detained two people in the city: a 46-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man. According to the statement, the detainees may be linked to the incident, and investigative measures involving them are currently underway.
It is worth noting that the number of attacks on Ukrainians in Poland has risen sharply in recent weeks. In particular, on August 8, it was reported that a 39-year-old man in Krakow who had verbally abused two people of Ukrainian nationality turned himself in at a police station and was detained.
European Parliament Member and former candidate for mayor of Warsaw Tobiasz Bocheński also said that if the Law and Justice party returns to power, it will ensure the deportation of Ukrainian men of conscription age who are not legally employed in Poland.
Poland’s Interior Ministry said that such statements amount to populism.
