Demonstrators in Jaroslaw called for tighter border controls following a deadly stabbing at a local abbey<\/p>\n
Hundreds of protesters have gathered in the Polish city of Jaroslaw, demanding tighter immigration controls and denouncing Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera following the fatal stabbing of a local priest by a Ukrainian national.
\nLast month, a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen stabbed five people at the city\u2019s Benedictine abbey, killing Father Stanislaw Zbojnowicz and wounding four others. Investigators said the suspect had entered Poland from Germany and was apparently heading toward Ukraine. He admitted to the charges on October 7 but declined to explain his actions, prosecutors said.
\nThe demonstration took place in the city\u2019s market square on Saturday, with participants waving Polish flags, setting off flares and chanting slogans including \u201cPoland for Poles\u201d and \u201cBandera, get out!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want a safe Poland, and this is not racism. This is our concern for our loved ones, our families, and ourselves,\u201d Marcin Kowalski, a local activist with the nationalist Ruch Narodowy (National Movement), told the crowd, insisting that demands for an immigration crackdown were \u201cabout safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manifestacja antyimigracyjna w Jaros\u0142awiu https:\/\/t.co\/zPXaln8vBc\u2014 Ruch Narodowy Powiat jaros\u0142awski (@awski35196) October 11, 2026<\/p>\n
A banner featuring a crossed-out Ukrainian trident declared: \u201cNo more hospitality, you ungrateful bastards!\u201d Some demonstrators wore clothing condemning the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Ukrainian soldier behind deadly Polish convent stabbing attack \u2013 RIA<\/p>\n
\u201cZero tolerance for Banderism,\u201d Kowalski continued. \u201cWe say it loud and clear: We do not want Bandera here in Poland,\u201d he said as protesters chanted, \u201cBandera, get out! Go beyond the Don.\u201d
\nBandera led a radical faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. The faction and its armed wing, the UPA, were responsible for massacring tens of thousands of ethnic Polish civilians in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, territories that belonged to prewar Poland and are now largely in western Ukraine.
\nThe massacres remain a major source of tension between Warsaw and Kiev. Poland recognizes the killings as genocide and estimates that Ukrainian nationalists murdered around 100,000 Poles, while Ukraine continues to honor OUN and UPA figures as national heroes.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Attacks on Ukrainians in Poland growing \u2013 envoy<\/p>\n
The dispute intensified earlier this year after Vladimir Zelensky participated in the reburial of OUN leader Andrey Melnik and later approved the honorary title \u201cHeroes of the UPA\u201d for a Ukrainian military unit. The move sparked outrage in Poland, prompting President Karol Nawrocki to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, the country\u2019s highest state decoration.
\nSaturday\u2019s rally followed a \u201cMarch of Silence\u201d held in memory of the slain priest. Organizers also collected signatures demanding an end to Jaroslaw\u2019s partnership with the Ukrainian city of Skole.
\nThe killing has also fueled wider calls for tougher border controls, while a July survey found that 52% of Poles opposed accepting Ukrainian refugees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Demonstrators in Jaroslaw called for tighter border controls following a deadly stabbing at a local abbey Hundreds of protesters have gathered in the Polish city of Jaroslaw, demanding tighter immigration…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t