Ukrainian diplomats have linked the vandalism of Warsaw's Ghetto Heroes Monument to Russian hybrid warfare, a week after a deadly attack in Kraków killed six people.
On November 7, a 24-year-old man drove a car into Kraków's main square and opened fire on random passersby. Six people died and 15 were injured, including two police officers. The attacker died in hospital on Monday. Police later found the bodies of his father, mother and sister, all with gunshot wounds, in his apartment in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
Police arrested a 17-year-old Ukrainian in Gdańsk on November 11. He had painted "Slava UPA" in red on seven monuments in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Similar graffiti appeared on the Ghetto Heroes Monument in Warsaw's Muranów district. It also appeared near the POLIN Museum and on a monument to a soldier of the First Polish Army. Additional incidents were reported in Poznań and other parts of Warsaw.
The Embassy of Ukraine in Poland condemned the acts in a statement. It said it believes they are a manifestation of the hybrid warfare Russia is pursuing in European countries. "The goal is obvious: to sow hostility between Ukrainians and Poles, undermine mutual trust and weaken support for Ukraine," the embassy said. It urged Ukrainians living in Poland to be wary of offers of easy money in exchange for painting inscriptions or damaging property.
According to Defence24, anonymous clients on Telegram offered up to $500 for vandalizing monuments. Payment was offered in cash or cryptocurrency, with travel costs covered. The embassy also warned against sharing personal information with strangers online and advised reporting suspicious recruitment attempts to Polish police.
The graffiti glorifies the UPA, a Ukrainian nationalist organization that collaborated with Nazi Germany. The group was responsible for killing more than 100,000 Poles during World War II.
