Support for aid to Ukrainians among Poles has significantly decreased – more and more respondents indicate that the change in their attitude is related to the "demanding position" of refugees.

According to the latest research on public perception of Ukrainian refugees and migrants conducted by the Research Laboratory of the University of Warsaw and the Economic and Humanitarian Academy in Warsaw at the end of May and the beginning of June, support for assistance to Ukrainians among Poles has significantly decreased. More and more respondents indicate that the change in their attitude is related to the "demanding position" of refugees, reports Rzeczpospolita.

The decrease in support applies to almost all forms of assistance to Ukrainians, except for education.

"We still want to help. 85% of the respondents are convinced of this, but not as decisively and unconditionally as a year ago or even in January of this year," explains Robert Staniszewski, the project leader.

The group of those who believe that Poland should help Ukraine during the war has decreased from 62% to 42% within just five months. Even fewer Poles, currently 35%, have a clearly positive attitude towards the assistance provided by Poland, compared to 47% in January.

A quarter of Poles unequivocally say "no" to additional aid for Ukraine. Moreover, the percentage of those strongly supporting assistance to refugees in Poland has fallen from 49% to 28%.

A growing group of people also want Ukrainians to return to their country after the war, with approximately 70% of Poles expressing this opinion (compared to 53% in January 2023).

The assessment of the social assistance provided by Poland to Ukrainian refugees is clearly negative. 60% of respondents already reject equal access to benefits available to Poles, and over half are also against providing benefits (compared to 37% a year ago) and funding for the food and accommodation of Ukrainians (which was 20%).

39.4% of respondents stated that they had changed their attitude towards Ukrainians, often citing their "demanding attitude." "Respondents most often explained this with the phrase 'they expect everything to be free,'" explains Staniszewski.

Another 14.5% stated that "Ukrainians have more rights than Poles." According to Myroslav Skurka, the president of the Association of Ukrainians in Poland, this is a "result of anti-Ukrainian sentiments spread on social media" not suppressed by anyone.

Earlier reports stated that Hungary had the highest level of support for refugees from Ukraine in Eastern Europe.