Ukrainian refugees face hatred and hostility across the EU as anti-Slavic racism spreads

The Kyiv Independent's documentary records incidents of harassment and attacks against Ukrainian refugees, most of them women and children, in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, and links the surge in hostile rhetoric to local politicians and upcoming elections.

Hatred towards Ukrainian refugees is no longer an internet rumour but a phenomenon that can be traced on the streets of Central Europe. A documentary by **The Kyiv Independent** gathers testimony of harassment and assaults in **Germany**, the **Czech Republic** and **Poland**, the three countries that have taken in the largest number of Ukrainian displaced people since 2022. Most of those who arrive are women and children.

## From the welcome of 2022 to hostility

In 2022, Europe's response to the arrival of Ukrainians was one of mass openness: activation of temporary protection and placement in private homes. That climate has steadily deteriorated. The documentary shows that reports of refugees suffering harassment and attacks are rising across the region. The hostility makes no distinction between those who work and those who rely on social assistance.

## The role of politicians and elections

The investigation devotes a section to why hatred grows ahead of elections. In the **Czech Republic**, the documentary points to local politicians as drivers of this rhetoric. When political rhetoric turns dangerous, it precedes the attacks: first the group is stigmatised, then the assaults trinc. The documentary also traces the spread of this content on the social network **X**.

## Documented attacks in Czechia and Poland

The documentary records specific incidents of hostility in the **Czech Republic** and **Poland**, and analyses how hate speech fuels physical attacks. It is not an isolated phenomenon confined to one country: the pattern repeats across all three territories investigated. The question the work ends with is what can break this cycle.