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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.
Police have detained and launched deportation proceedings against a Ukrainian man who is accused of threatening arson attacks in response to President Karol Nawrocki’s decision this week to veto a law extending support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
In a statement, the Polish headquarters in Warsaw announced on Friday afternoon that they had detained the 29-year-old man in the city’s Praga Południe district after receiving reports of his actions.
“The man had been posting video materials on social media in which he threatened arson,” wrote the police, adding that he would now be charged with public incitement to commit a crime, an offence that carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
The statement that added the police are working with the border guard to process a request to deport the man.
‼️ Po kilkunastu godz. od publikacji wideo w Internecie @Policja_KSP zatrzymała obywatela Ukrainy grożącego podpaleniami. Wszczęto dochodzenie. Mężczyźnie zostaną przedstawione zarzuty. KSP współpracuje z @Straz_Graniczna, gdzie zostanie skierowany wniosek o deportację.
— Marcin Kierwiński (@MKierwinski) August 29, 2025
Earlier, a film had been widely shared on social media showing a man recording himself speaking in Ukrainian about Nawrocki’s veto. The original video was posted on a TikTok account that has since been deleted.
“If there won’t be 800+ [child benefits], homes will be burned,” said the man, showing images of fire engines on what appears to be a housing estate in Poland. “Look what our people are doing. They set fire to a house…You don’t know yet what Ukrainians are capable of.”
The decision that the man was referring to was this week’s veto by Nawrocki of a government bill that would have extended support for Ukrainian refugees, including their access to social benefits and healthcare.
The president subsequently presented an alternative bill of his own that would make such benefits conditional on Ukrainians working and paying taxes. It would also outlaw the propagation of the ideology of wartime Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera.
Szanowni @Policja_KSP @PolskaPolicja @PolicjaCBZC
Czy normalne jest, że obywatel Ukrainy nagrywa filmik akcji straży pożarnej i mówi, że jak zostanie zabrane im 800+ to będę płonąć domy?
Ja rozumiem, że służby trzymają rękę na pulsie, bo to idealny kandydat do łatwego… pic.twitter.com/6L2J0BJaPl
— Służby w akcji (@Sluzby_w_akcji) August 28, 2025
The official X account of Warsaw police has responded below many copies of the video posted on the social media platform, confirming that the man in question is the one who was arrested.
Responding to the news, an MP from the ruling coalition, Anna-Maria Żukowska, welcomed the man’s arrest but also called for the intelligence services to look into him.
“It’s not out of the question that he’s not acting alone and that he’s being inspired,” she wrote, alluding to recent cases in which young Ukrainian and Belarusian immigrants in Poland have been paid by Russia to spread disinformation and propaganda, and even carry out acts of sabotage, including arson.
The Polish authorities have recently stepped up efforts to deport foreign nationals guilty of committing crimes, including dozens of Ukrainians and Belarusians who committed offences at a recent concert in Warsaw.
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: KPRM/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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.
