KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — When Nastya Podorozhnya's relatives fled the war in Ukraine for neighboring Poland, volunteers welcomed them with open arms.
Podorozhnya, 29, was already living in Poland when the war began. But days before Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, she rushed back to Ukraine to help her sister and nieces get out.
As she returned to Poland alongside an influx of refugees in the war’s first days, she witnessed the outpouring of support from Polish volunteers. But she also spotted a risk: Ukrainian women accepting help from strangers could become vulnerable to human traffickers.
That was when she decided to found Martynka, a helpline and support group for female Ukrainian refugees escaping gender-based violence.
Four years later, she is struggling to keep the organization afloat. Funding for refugee support is drying up, hostility toward Ukrainians is growing, and Poland still lacks a long-term integration strategy. As war fatigue deepens, politicians are increasingly exploiting anti-refugee sentiment for political gain.
The shift is being felt by groups such as Martynka. While fundraising was relatively easy in the first months of the war, international donors have since turned their attention to other global crises.
Martynka's shelter, located in an inconspicuous two-bedroom apartment in central Krakow, has hosted more than 100 women and children. Women receive help to escape abusers and access medical care, psychological support, jobs and housing.
“It often starts with me having tea in this very kitchen with the women and they tell me what happened to them and I say ‘girl, same,’” Podorozhnya told The Associated Press during an interview in the Krakow shelter, referring to her own experience of a man trying to rape her on a street in Poland in 2016.
As Podorozhnya and her colleagues struggle to raise enough money to keep the shelter open, she says calls for donations frequently trigger a torrent of online abuse.
“It's because I’m Ukrainian,” she said.
Ukrainian refugees contribute to Poland’s economy
Around 3.5 million Ukrainians fled to Poland in the first weeks of the war, according to the U.N. Poles greeted them at train stations and opened their homes to them, while the government granted refugees access to jobs and social security benefits.
The two countries share a long history of brutality at the hands of Russia, and Poland remains a key ally to Ukraine in the war.
By the end of 2022, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Poland had stabilized at around 1 million. Those who stayed were rapidly absorbed into the labor market: More than 70% found employment, and a Deloitte study estimated that they contributed 2.7% of Poland’s gross domestic product in 2024.
In addition to the refugees, most of whom are women and children, more than 1 million Ukrainians were already living in Poland before the war, primarily as economic migrants.
Historical grievances resurface
The refugees have increasingly become targets of anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. In research published this year, Ukrainian migrants interviewed by Olena Babakova, a researcher at Warsaw’s Vistula University, identified the 2025 Polish presidential campaign as the period when anti-Ukrainian feeling intensified, as it became a common theme for all parties, not just the far right.
Karol Nawrocki, representing the national-conservative camp and who eventually won the presidency, promised legislation that would prioritize Polish citizens over Ukrainians when accessing public services. Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal candidate, proposed restricting child welfare benefits for Ukrainians.
As tensions increased, historical grievances between the countries resurfaced.
In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyydecided to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during World War II, causing outrage in Poland. Nawrocki responded by withdrawing a state honor awarded to Zelenskyy, further escalating the tensions.
“And it's not only negative feelings, Ukrainians really experience hostile conversations and attacks,” Babakova told the AP.
According to data from the Polish police, 180 Ukrainian citizens were victims of prejudice-motivated crimes by mid-July, a significant increase compared with 275 for the whole of 2025 and 267 in 2024.
In response to multiple media reports of Ukrainians beaten on Polish streets over the summer, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in late July that “we must wage war on violence and hatred.”
Help for vulnerable refugees is decreasing
The Polish government has been steadily cutting support for Ukrainian refugees, saying that many have stabilized their situation.
Poland’s ombudsman has warned that the changes disproportionately affect the most vulnerable groups, including single mothers with several children, older people and those with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Because most Ukrainian men of military age, between 23 and 60, are prohibited from leaving the country, single mothers are overrepresented among the refugees.
Yuliia Repenko from the Ukrainian House said that her nongovernmental organization, which provides help to Ukrainians, was “increasingly supporting people who are particularly vulnerable to exclusion.”
The Polish government has defended its decision to cut back aid to Ukrainian refugees. Katarzyna Nowakowska, Poland's deputy minister for family, labor and social policy, told the AP that the most vulnerable applicants still receive direct help from the state and any other refugees needing support should turn to social workers.
As the Polish government has been scaling back its support, international aid has also declined, further limiting options. Data from the U.N. refugee agency shows a steady drop since 2022 in the funding provided by international donors for Ukrainians, with only half the agency’s identified needs financed this year, compared with 94% in 2022.
“Financial supporters have moved on from helping Ukrainian refugees, but the war is still ongoing,” said Sonia Novytska, a Martynka helpline worker. “If anything, it has become deadlier since the start.”
Martynka received about 1,800 requests for help last year, and staff expect that number to increase, Novytska said. Not only victims of violence contact the helpline now, but also mothers struggling to provide food and shelter for their children.
“What Poles need to understand is that we are helping the people that could otherwise become homeless in their neighborhoods, the people who might start abusing substances out of despair they can’t make ends meet,” Podorozhnya said.
“Martynka does the job of the Polish state,” she said.
