In Legnica, Poland, a 26-year-old woman is to stand trial in connection with an assault on two 13-year-old girls from Ukraine. According to the police, the suspect was arrested following the collection of evidence and witness statements, and the prosecution service has informed her that she is suspected of causing minor bodily harm and coercion involving the use of violence or threats.
Briefly about the main points
- A 26-year-old woman was arrested in Legnica following an incident involving Ukrainian teenagers.
- The Public Prosecutor’s Office has informed the suspect of two charges.
- She could face up to seven years and six months in prison.
- The suspect has been ordered to stay away from the victims and the children’s playground.
- The Public Prosecutor’s Office links one of the incidents in the case to acts of hooliganism.
The incident by the swimming pool
The incident took place on Saturday evening near the swimming pool on Poliarna Street. It was publicly recounted by the mother of two girls from Ukraine.
According to her account, the children were playing with others when a woman approached them with her own children and made a complaint because they were speaking Ukrainian. The mother claims that the woman subsequently picked on the children on several occasions, and during one such incident punched one of her daughters, another girl and a boy who had come to their defence.
According to the mother, the attacker told the children that she had done this because of their Ukrainian heritage.
What charges were brought against the suspect?
A police spokeswoman from Legnica Ekert Berry She reported that law enforcement officers had identified witnesses, seized records and gathered evidence, after which they identified a 26-year-old woman as a suspect in the assaults on minors.
She was taken to the Legnica District Prosecutor’s Office. One of the allegations relates to causing a disruption to bodily functions or a health impairment lasting no more than seven days. The second charge relates to coercing another person into an act, inaction or endurance through violence or unlawful threats; the police noted that this incident was of a hooliganistic nature.
The suspect faces up to seven years and six months’ imprisonment. She has been placed under police supervision and is prohibited from approaching the victims or the children’s playground on Poliarna Street.
Another case in Bielsko-Biała
In mid-July, a 54-year-old man was arrested in Bielsko-Biała following an altercation with Ukrainian teenagers on a city bus. According to RMF24, he spoke to the girls in an aggressive and obscene manner; the driver and a female passenger intervened.
The man has been informed that he is suspected of insulting three Ukrainian women, including two 11-year-old girls, and of violating the physical integrity of one of them. He faces up to three years’ imprisonment on these charges.
Data on hate crimes
Last week, the Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administration of Poland Czesław Mroczek reported an increase in the number of hate crimes: from 760 in 2024 to 1,200 in 2025, representing an increase of more than 30%.
RMF24 also reported that over one of the recent weekends, the Polish police recorded 14 offences at on national or racial grounds, seven people were arrested, and the number of victims stood at 18. The incidents reported in Legnica and Bielsko-Biała are taking place against the backdrop of these statistics.
