Climate activists vandalise and occupy Smolensk air disaster memorial in Warsaw

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Activists from the Last Generation climate movement have vandalised a monument in Warsaw dedicated to the 2010 Smolensk air disaster that killed 96 people, including President Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria and many other prominent state officials. Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of the crash.

“We are flying towards catastrophe,” wrote the Polish branch of the movement on social media, sharing a video of one of their activists on top of the monument, which takes the form of a giant set of steps and is located on Warsaw’s Piłsudski Square.

The activist, named as 35-year-old Przemek, poured a red liquid – which the group claimed was blood – over the monument and unfurled a banner. He then remained atop the memorial, demanding talks with Prime Minister Donald Tusk before he comes down.

Last Generation declared that Tusk’s government is “co-responsible for the billions of deaths that will be caused by the end of the century by the climate collapse fueled by politicians and the wealthiest”.

The man continues to occupy the monument at the time of writing, almost three hours after the protest began.

Meanwhile, two other activists dressed in black laid wreaths beneath the monument. “We remember the tragic deaths of the Smolensk disaster and we want to prevent billions more,” wrote Last Generation on X.

A police spokesman, Jakub Pacyniak, told newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza that an “anti-conflict team is on site, trying to persuade the man to safely get off the monument”. Once he is removed, he will be held to account for criminal behaviour.

Meanwhile, education minister Barbara Nowacka – whose mother Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, a former deputy prime minister, was among those killed in the Smolensk crash – condemned the protest.

“This is stupid and wrong. No respect for the victims and the families’ memories. You’re just alienating everyone,” wrote Nawrocka on social media.

Last Generation has held an ongoing series of protests in Poland, like in other countries. In particular, its members have blocked busy roads during peak hours, including by gluing themselves to the surface. In December, Tusk pledged to take “decisive” action against such behaviour.

The Smolensk monument in Warsaw has often been the site of protests and controversy. In 2023, it was occupied by a man reportedly threatening to blow himself up. He was later safely removed from the structure.

The memorial also regularly sees clashes between Jarosław Kaczyński – the identical twin brother of Lech and leader of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party – with activists who accuse him of spreading false narratives around the causes of the plane crash to serve his political agenda.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.