Polish prosecutors charge woman over attack on Ukrainian children speaking their language
Polish prosecutors have charged a woman over an attack on two Ukrainian children, which the family and Ukraine's consulate say was triggered by the siblings speaking Ukrainian. The attacker twisted one child's arm and threw fragments of the children's broken toy drone at a 12-year-old boy, scratching him.
Prosecutors in Poland have filed charges against a woman accused of attacking two Ukrainian siblings, an incident the children's family and Ukraine's consulate say occurred because the children were speaking Ukrainian to each other.
According to the family and the consulate, the woman twisted one of the children's arms during the confrontation. She also broke the siblings' toy drone and threw the broken pieces at the 12-year-old boy, leaving him with scratches.
The case has drawn attention from Ukrainian diplomatic representatives, with the consulate stating that the children were targeted specifically because they were heard speaking Ukrainian. The incident comes amid a broader pattern of occasional friction reported between local residents and Ukrainian communities in several European countries hosting large numbers of refugees from the war, including Poland.
Police were involved in securing the children's safety, and the case has now resulted in formal charges against the woman. Further details of the charges and the next steps in the legal process have not yet been disclosed.
Poland has been one of the primary destinations for Ukrainians fleeing the war since 2022, and relations between local communities and Ukrainian refugees are generally described as cooperative. Still, isolated incidents such as this attack on children point to occasional tensions tied to language and national origin.
