Poland refutes claim that Ukrainian attacked teenager, pointing at Russian disinformation

The attacker who stabbed a Polish teenager was another Polish national, not a Ukrainian as suggested in social media comments, Poland's Interior Ministry said, describing the unverified claims as Russian disinformation.

"LIES! The attacker of the 15-year-old boy in Kamienna Góra was Polish, not Ukrainian. The victim is also a Polish citizen. Before spreading false information again, you should first check the facts with a reliable source," Poland's Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Gałecka, as quoted by RMF24.

The tragic incident occurred on the evening of 7 August on Księcia Bolka I Street in the city of Kamienna Góra in Lower Silesia. A 15-year-old teenager was stabbed in the neck and lost a significant amount of blood. The boy underwent surgery over the weekend and is still fighting for his life. His condition is very serious.

Police detained two 16-year-old teenagers who may have been involved in the attack. After questioning, one was released, while the other – suspected of carrying out the stabbing – was taken to a police detention centre for juveniles.

Shortly after information about the knife attack was published, numerous social media comments appeared suggesting the attacker was Ukrainian. Some also wrote that police had allegedly deliberately withheld the suspect's nationality, though law enforcement does not disclose this in most cases.

Gałecka described such comments as Russian disinformation.

"Spreading such messages is nothing other than Russian disinformation, the aim of which is to sow discord between Poles and Ukrainians and to stoke fear and hatred. You exploit the most basic human instincts, such as fear, to turn people against one another. You have even exploited this tragedy in a despicable manner," she wrote in a social media post.

The number of attacks on Ukrainians in Poland has risen sharply in recent weeks. The previous day, 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.

Several days ago, European Parliament member and former Warsaw mayoral candidate Tobiasz Bocheński 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 such statements as populism.