500,000 people march in 22 Polish cities against violence toward Ukrainians

Summary

On August 9, about 500,000 people marched in Poland across 22 cities under the slogans "Don't be indifferent" and "My Poland does not hit, insult, or bully," calling for action against attacks on Ukrainians. Ukrainian state news agency UNN reported the marches while they were still underway, noting 22 simultaneous demonstrations. Romania's Digi24 reported the 500,000 figure and described the protests as taking place against growing diplomatic tensions between Poland and Ukraine. The marches follow documented hate crimes against Ukrainians in Poland, including the July 2026 wave of anti-Ukrainian attacks, and come at a time of sustained friction between Warsaw and Kyiv over war-crimes investigations, conscription, and wartime trade disputes.

The split

Ukrainian outlets UNN and ua.news framed the marches as Polish civil society acting in solidarity, centering the "My Poland does not hit" banner and presenting the protests as a clear-cut civic response to violence. Romania's Digi24 placed the same event inside a larger Poland-Ukraine diplomatic rupture, a context the Ukrainian coverage did not foreground. Polish domestic media coverage was absent from this feed pass, leaving the domestic political reception unclear: whether the marches drew broad cross-party support or were contested by Polish nationalist or Eurosceptic currents is not established by available sources.

By the numbers

• 22, Polish cities where protests took place simultaneously on Sunday, August 9
• 500,000, reported total attendance across all cities (Digi24)
• 2, main slogans: "Don't be indifferent" and "My Poland does not hit, insult, or bully"

Why it matters

Polish civil society mobilising in 22 cities signals that public support for Ukrainians in Poland has not collapsed despite sustained diplomatic friction with Kyiv. Whether Polish authorities respond with tougher hate-crime enforcement, or let the marches pass without policy change, will determine whether public solidarity translates into safer conditions for Ukrainians living in Poland. The outcome also matters for the broader shift in European attitudes toward Ukrainian refugees as the war continues.

What to watch

• Polish government statement on the marches and whether hate-crime prosecutions accelerate
• Any further violent incidents against Ukrainians in Poland in the coming weeks
• State of Poland-Ukraine diplomatic relations and whether the bilateral rift eases after the protests